Sports
AN Ex-table tennis international, Waheed Ekun, on Friday called on sports enthusiasts to support and organise grassroots competitions in order to identify and nurture talents.
Ekun, who stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan, commended the evolvement of table tennis in the country, saying it had indeed changed from what it used to be.
He stated that he played table tennis most actively in the 1970s, adding that he started representing Nigeria in 1972.
“My days had the likes of Solomon Bamigbade, Babatunde Obisanya and Kasali Lasisi. It was indeed the era year of table tennis.
“That was the starting point of our international debut in table tennis. It was after that time that people like Atanda Musa and Abas Ekun came up and they equally did well,” he said.
“Quadri Aruna is also doing wonderfully well and I never believe that I could witness a time that a Nigerian player will rank among the best 10 in the world.
“I’m proud of Aruna for making this happen while I’m still alive. He has done very well for table tennis and he’s still doing well. I pray he keeps it up.
“We need to produce more players like him, hence grassroots table tennis must be resuscitated.
“If we look at it holistically, Aruna is getting old and sooner or later, he will leave the stage and a vacuum created if we don’t have some players that we’re already grooming,” he said.
Ekun said that he was even more concerned about the female category where the country was lagging behind.
“In recent times, Egypt has been dominating and this is heartbreaking.
“Funke Oshonaike has been there for so long and time is running against her. We need many more younger and vibrant girls to fly our flags high.
“I encourage table tennis enthusiasts to come and support ping pong players in terms of more national competitions as well as locking horns with their contemporaries at international competitions,” he said.
Ekun stressed the need for Aruna to have a personal coach who is knowledgeable enough to impact on his approach and tactical play.
“Aruna is very knowledgeable but he needs a stable coach who will always be with him to monitor the areas where more needs to must be done against the next match.
“He needs a coach who can tell him what’s needed at a very critical point of the game. Playing table tennis is more or less a 24-hour job,” he said.
The ex-international, however, expressed the regret that Aruna did not have sponsorship.
“A professional table tennis player should have a personal coach. But I think one of the things working against him is sponsorship; he lacks sponsorship.
“There is no sponsorship for him and this is unfortunate; it’s unlike other sports like football and athletics which have sponsors for some of the athletes.
“Any company picking a star like Aruna and sponsoring him is a win-win for the brand, the sport and the player.
“Aruna will make a good brand ambassador because he is unlike other athletes. He doesn’t drink, smoke or do things that many athletes do.
“I can say he is a disciplined athlete with great reputation, an athlete who is ranked at all the competitions he attends,” he said.
Ekun regretted that in his days, the country couldn’t compete with Asians because of the belief that they were too fast and more knowledgeable than us.
“But now, Aruna has broken that jinx. He is a unique player, the only Black player you’ll always see at global stages. His best won’t be enough if he is not getting all the support that he needs.
“He needs funding to do what his counterparts in Europe and Asia are doing to excel in table tennis. This will help him toward improving his ranking.
“Aruna is getting to a stage where he may not be relevant again in the game but now that’s he’s relevant, he should be encouraged so that he won’t miss any opportunity to rise higher than he is presently,” he said.
NAN reports that Ekun, an indigene of Ibadan, won the National Sports Festival Table Tennis Championship by defeating Sunday Eboh at the final in 1973 at the age of 17. (NAN)
12th July, 2024.
C.E.
Tags: Waheed Ekun
