The grand finale of the 5th Opay Cup China-Nigeria Table Tennis Tournament has been held in Abuja, with athletes showcasing their skills in a competition aimed at strengthening people-to-people ties between Nigeria and China.
The tournament, hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria (CGCCN), was concluded on Sunday at the Huawei Sports Complex in Nigeria’s capital.
Athletes competed in the men’s and women’s singles, group singles and men’s doubles categories, with participants drawn from Chinese enterprises operating in Nigeria and the China Cultural Centre in Nigeria.
Segun Yunusa Adesanya and Kelvin Ahametula, both of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), emerged first and second respectively in the men’s singles.
In the women’s singles, Yang Yuan of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) took first place, while Nie Xiaohua of China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC) finished second.
CHEC won the group singles competition, followed by CCECC in second place and CGC in third.
In the men’s doubles, CCECC’s Segun Yunusa Adesanya and Lu Jinwei emerged champions, while Wang Xiang and Guo Hanqin of the China Cultural Centre in Nigeria finished second. Lin Maomin and Yang Hang of CHEC placed third.
The victorious athletes received trophies, medals and cash prizes for their performances.
Speaking after the award ceremony, Yang Jianxing, Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria and Director of the China Cultural Centre, described the tournament as an avenue for deepening friendship and mutual understanding between Nigerians and Chinese nationals.
Yang congratulated the winners, particularly the Nigerian participants who claimed the top two positions in the men’s singles, as well as the Chinese participants.
He noted that table tennis is highly popular in China and has become an important part of the country’s sporting culture, adding that the tournament demonstrated the ability of sports to bring people from different countries together.
“Sports has the charm to transcend the border of nations,” Yang said, expressing hope that more cultural, tourism and sporting exchange programmes would be organised by the Chinese Embassy, the China Cultural Centre and Chinese companies across Nigeria. According to him, such exchanges would provide opportunities for more Nigerians and Chinese nationals to interact, build friendships and deepen people-to-people relations.
For Adesanya, the tournament represented the culmination of three years of determination and improvement. The CCECC player, who emerged the star performer of the competition after winning gold in both the men’s singles and doubles, said his success followed lessons learned from previous editions.
He recalled that his team failed to win a medal when they first participated three years ago, before finishing third last year.
“Last year we came here for the same tournament. We took third last year. We went back home, went back to our drawing board, looked at our mistakes and corrected them immediately,” he said.
Adesanya said he was delighted to return this year and win the men’s singles and doubles titles, describing the achievement as a major milestone for himself and CCECC.
He commended the China General Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria for creating an opportunity for Nigerian players to participate alongside Chinese athletes and companies.
“I give them kudos for what they have been doing so far in Nigeria,” he said, while urging the organisers to expand participation by involving more Nigerians and Chinese fans in future editions.
Looking ahead to next year’s tournament, Adesanya said he would be targeting an even stronger performance.
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