Agunbiade, Ikpoeyi, Bazuaye retain Valuejet title

Paralympians and Commonwealth medalists Tajudeen Agunbiade, Christiana Ikpoeyi, Faith Bazuaye and Isau Ogunkunle retained their titles in the fourth round of the Valuejet Lagos Para Table Tennis Open which ended on Sunday at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium. PUNCH reports.

The final match featuring two Commonwealth medalists Ikpeoyi and Kate Oputa was one of the star matches of the final day as 2022 Commonwealth silver medalist Ikpeoyi had to rally from the brink of defeat to beat 2014 Commonwealth silver medalist Oputa 3-2 (9-11). , 11-9, 12-14, 11-8, 11-8) to defend her title in the women’s division 5.

Also, 2020 Paralympic bronze medalist Agunbiade had to fight back from 2-0 down to beat Tunde Adisa 3-2 (8-11, 4-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8) to retain his title. men’s grade 9.

2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Obazuaye did not lose a match to retain her title in the women’s 10, while fellow 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Ogunkunle beat perennial rival Chinedu 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-4). , 11-8) to claim his fourth consecutive title in the Men’s Division 4 tournament.

Despite retaining their titles, Agunbiade and Ikpoeyi were tested by their opponents in the final, while Ogunkunle and Obazuaye were not threatened in their quest to hold on to the laurels.

Paralympic bronze medalist Olufemi Alabi was the only casualty among the top seeds as he survived a 3-0 (11-5, 12-10, 11-7) defeat at the hands of Biola Adesope in the semi-finals. the only defending champion to fail to defend his title.

Already eyeing their places at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Ikpeoyi, Ogunkunle, Agunbiade and Obazuaye believe the tournament has given them the opportunity to assess most of their potential opponents in the national qualifiers.

The Lagos State Sports Commission Director General Oluwatoyin Gafaar said the tournament has helped unearth new talent.

From the National Sports Festival where most of these players participate, you can see that the standard is very high and there is a lot of improvement on the part of the players.

It showed that they really prepared, and you’ll see the finalists, who are Delta champions, strut their stuff here. You can from the final, it has been athletes from Commonwealth Games to new. The new abilities have been impressive, but unfortunately the Commonwealth Games players have had the upper hand.

This showed the level and quality of the tournament, and champions have a reason to be champions, he said.