Cross River tennis association moves to discover new talents
By Christian Njoku
Cross River State Table Tennis Association (CRSTTA) on Thursday disclosed its plan to discover new talents in the state in its second edition of the Edim Inok Table Tennis Championship.
The competition, which will hold on Dec. 17th and Dec. 18 at the UJ Esuene Stadium Calabar, would have four categories; the male singles, the female singles, the junior boys singles and cadet single.
In a press briefing at the stadium, Richard Edem, a coach in the association said they were working hard to discover new talents in the sport.
He said at the end of the event, they would pick some talented kids to groom for the future, adding that some of the champions from the state were discovered that way.
He, however, appealed to parents whose wards were interested in the sport to support them with equipment such as the kits, rackets and other facilities because they are very expensive.
“If we want to encourage the players as a commission, we can buy extra rackets that will be kept by the commission to aid the practice of the players when they come around.
“When the children come for training, we expect them to come with their personal kit which they cannot share with others due to the peculiarity in persons, style of play and preference,” she said.
Reacting, Edim Inok, sponsor of the competition said he was trying to set a precedence and pathway for others to support sports in the state.
“It is not right that in Cross River, we expect government to do everything, if you are a lover of a particular sport, we can do something ourselves.
“In 1981, I represented this state in Port Harcourt in table tennis and badminton and also in Oluwole 79, these competitions were all sponsored by individuals and corporate organisations,” he said
Inok added that for the sports to grow, the nation needs to catch the players young.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that although the prices for the winner of each of the categories has yet to be announced, 50 entries have been received.