Taiwo Mati and Bose Odusanya claimed the men and women’s singles title in the Lagos Top 16 Invitational Table Tennis Challenge held at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium on Saturday.
Mati, who lost the men’s title of the Nigeria Table Tennis Championships to Rilwan Akanbi last month, saw off 15-year-old Samuel Boboye, while Odunsanya beat Bisola Asaju, who had earlier caused an upset by defeating tournament favourite Fatimo Bello in the semi-final.
Despite starting well in the final, Boboye could not re-enact his earlier performance against Mati – who he defeated in the group stage of the U-21, losing 4-2 (13-11, 8-11, 7-11, 11-13, 11-7, 1-11) in less than an hour.
In the women’s singles, Odusanya became the champion after beating Asaju 4-2 (11-5, 8-11, 11-4, 3-11, 11-5, 11-6).
The one-day N1.2m prize money tournament was sponsored by the Director-General, Lagos State Sports Commission, Gafar Bolowotan, under the umbrella of Renewed Hope Lagos.