Nigeria female number one squash player, Yemisi Olatunji at the weekend maintained her winning streak when she defeated her younger sister, Busayo Olatunji, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 8-11 and 11-8 (3-2), to win the female category of the maiden Lekan Adewoye Open Squash Tournament, which held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
At the championship, which is a World Squash Federation (WSF) recognised event, and also a PSA ranking tournament, Onaopemipo Adegoke beat Idowu Enimakura 3-1 to win the men’s title.
Speaking on her victory, Olatunji said hard work and determination to excel was the secret behind her success, adding, “Winning the first edition of the Lekan Adewoye Squash Open delights me. “My focus is to keep forging ahead to be the best in Nigeria and the world. Domestic championships like this give squash players the opportunity to compete and gain more experience. The present NSF board is doing a great job by encouraging competitions like this.”
Also speaking at the event, Nigeria Squash Federation President, Boye Oyerinde commended the organisers for helping to develop squash in the country.
“Squash is growing in the country. Last year, Nigeria had just five players in the PSA ranking, but at this moment the country has 12. This is because the players have been exposed to more internationally recognised championships in the country.
“Our vision is to see more players in the world ranking and also be among the top 50 in the world.“The federation is delighted that more sponsors are interested in squash. PSA ranked tournaments like this enables players to compete at the top level without travelling out of the country,” he said.
The tournament sponsor, Lekan Adewoye praised the players for their commitment to improving their skills in squash.“I am happy with the standard of the championship. My objective is to discover and groom more talents in the sport and also keep the experienced ones more active through competitions. The turn out of players was impressive.“I thank the NSF for their support and I promise that the next edition of the championship will take place next year by the grace of God,” he declared. At the end of the competition, the men’s winners got $1,000, while winners in the women category got $500.
