By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Pursuant to its five-year programme designed to hunt talents in Table Tennis for future harvest of diadem for Abia and Nigeria at both local and international sporting tournaments ,the Abia State Table Tennis Association ,Tuesday February 27 2024 unveiled its activities for the year in Umuahia the state capital
This is even as the Abia State Sports Authorities have announced their intentions to dissolve all Sports Association that have either failed to live up to their expected roles in sports development in the state and or have refused to key in to the transformational agenda of the Governor Alex Otti’s administration.
The Chairman, Abia State Table Tennis Association Dike Dimiri, who at a press briefing, attributed the modest in road made in 2023 to the unflinching supportive roles of the Abia state government, expressed optimism that this year will surpass the previous one in performance indices.
According to the ASTTA boss, expectations are already high, noting that the Aba Premier league Table Tennis Tournament and the 100 Tables- in 100 schools Programmes both introduced in 2023 ,will see the introduction of additional products namely – The Aba Table Tennis Governor’s Cup , Grand PrixTable Tennis ,and Aba Intercollegiate Table Tennis Cup.
Dimiri, who is also the President of Aba Premier league Table Tennis,said this year’s activities will also involve the movement of the Association to its Multi purpose Table Tennis Sporting Complex.
” The addition of these events to our calendar and the commissioning of our Table Tennis Complex will solidify Aba’s Pre eminent position as home to professional table tennis in Nigeria .
“This will set the stage for us to host the first Aba International Sports Business Conference AISBU,the first of its kind in Nigeria.
“This will effectively signpost Aba as an International destination for the hunting sports talents and sports support services such as manufacturing,infrastructure,hospitality and media services.
“It is our sincere conviction that no other city in Nigeria is equipped like Aba to promote the development of professional sports leagues and deliver a sports economy with requisite sports value chain for the benefits of all stakeholders” Dimiri stated.”
Hon Nwaobilo Ananaba the Abia state Commissioner of Youths who spoke through the duo of Directors of Sports and Information, lauded the Table Tennis Association as not only being the best organized of all the Sporting bodies ,but also the only one that is truly alive to its expected responsibilities and commitment to the development of sports through grass roots mobilization.
He warned that the Abia state authorities will soon take a second look at the activities of various sporting Associations in the state with a view to retaining only those that have been receptive to the vision and mission of a new Abia state under the watch of Governor Otti.
The Abia state Sports Commissioner while urging the Table Tennis Association not to relent particularly in the task of hunting talents at the grassroots, assured that the state authorities will always indentify with and support all genuine efforts at taking Abia to the next level.
