Table Tennis - Michael Olasoji Wins Yaounde Open

He beat the reigning champion, Ngwe Emmanuel 3-0 in the final to lift the trophy.

Michael Olasoji came out of the blues to put an end to Ngwe Emmanuel's domination of the game and win the Yaounde Open tournament in the men's senior category. In the final which took place at the campus of the Higher Institute of Youth and Sports, INJS in Yaounde on Saturday, June 15, Michael Olasoji beat the reigning Cameroon champion, Ngwe Emmanuel by three straight sets; 11-3, 11-4 and 11-9 to lift his second trophy of the season after that of the opening of the season. The Nigeria born, Olasoji says his rise in form is due to hard work, commitment and consistency as there is no magic in table tennis. Meanwhile, Ngwe Emmanuel attributes his lack of form of the day to lack of training as he was busy writing exams at the University of Yaounde I.

Meanwhile the status quo was maintained in the women's senior category where Tayim Mercy continues to call the shots. The defending champion beat challenger, Adabi Halimatou; 11-5 in the first set and bowed 9-11 in the second set before taking the upper hand in the last two sets; 11-4 , 11-1 to maintain her hegemony over tennis in the women's category. In the junior category, Nikwango narrowly edged Nguepi 3-2 while Bagueka Loic trounced Kechemen Maxim by three sets to zero in the minor category. After winning the Grand Prix Sud Cameroon, Vouffo Pauli added another feather to his cap by grabbing the Yaounde Open trophy in the veteran category. He had an easy walk over his opponent in the final, Ngamaleu Leopold, winning three straight sets; 11-9, 11-6 and 11-9.

Cash prizes and trophies were awarded to the first three athletes in each category while T-shirts were distributed to little children from the Littoral and Centre regions who took part in the tournament, for the practise of the sport. In a related development, the President of the Table Tennis Federation, Alfred Bagueka, is planning to organise a competition solely for children in order to detect young talents in fulfilment of his electoral promise. The next table tennis competition will take place in Bafoussam as a means of taking the game to the grassroots. Alfred Bagueka so far is the only federation president who takes part in competitions as an athlete in the veteran category and has been canvassing for sponsors to organise several competitions to enable the athletes improve on their performances.