Bose Odusanya extended her dominance at the Molade Okoya-Thomas National Table Tennis Championships, securing her 10th consecutive Women’s Singles title at the 56th edition of Africa’s longest-running table tennis tournament in Lagos.

 

National champion Matthew Kuti also maintained his unbeaten streak, claiming his first Men’s Singles title with a commanding 4-1 victory over Abbulbasit Abdulfatai of Kwara.

Despite being seeded fourth, Odusanya bulldozed her way into the final, where she overcame Amina Fashola of NSCDC 4-1 (8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8). With this triumph, she became the first player in the competition’s history to win 10 consecutive titles.

 

Calling this year’s win her toughest yet, Odusanya acknowledged the higher level of competition after the tournament was upgraded to a national event.

Top-seeded Kuti entertained dignitaries, including Ogun State First Lady Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun and former Kwara State First Lady Mrs. Oluwatoyin Saraki, as he confidently claimed his maiden senior title.

 

Despite dropping the first game 7-11, Kuti stormed back to stun his left-handed opponent, securing victory with a dominant 4-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9) performance. He praised the Okoya-Thomas family for elevating the event to national status.

• Boys’ Champion: Oyo State’s Usman Ayoola defeated Ahmed Ayatullahi 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 12-10).

• Girls’ Champion: Abia’s Chinenye Okafor edged out her opponent 3-2 (11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 3-11, 11-8) after nearly surrendering a 2-0 lead.

Ogun State First Lady Mrs. Abiodun praised the Okoya-Thomas family’s commitment to the championship and expressed hopes of seeing it expand into an international event.

 

Meanwhile, Deji Okoya-Thomas assured continued improvements, encouraged by the strong turnout and quality of play in the tournament’s inaugural year as a national competition.