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Para Table Tennis: Selection Tears Coaches, Athletes Apart Ahead Commonwealth Games

Para Table Tennis: Selection Tears Coaches, Athletes Apart Ahead Commonwealth Games

by Niyi Busari,
Jun 30, 2022
in Tennis

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By Our Reporter

All is presently not well with the Para division of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation as aggrieved coaches and athletes, denied places on the Commonwealth Games bound team have vowed to expose the rot in the division.

With less than a month to the 22nd Commonwealth Games holding in Birmingham July 28 - August 8, 2022, Para Table Tennis, a supposed strong hold for Team Nigeria is facing some internal crisis which is threatening to boil over as some coaches and players have alleged foul play in the team selection ahead of the games.

Speaking from his base in Taraba, a senior para table tennis coach, Kunle Jeriogbe, has promised not to relent in his protest against the selection of coaches for the Para Table Tennis team heading into the games.

"I am taking my case to the Sports Minister. There is clear bias in the selection of national coaches for the team. How can they be planning to take someone who was dismissed from the Civil Defence to the Commonwealth Games? That was how they smuggled him to the Olympics in Tokyo almost a year ago. There are Para Table Tennis coaches all over the country yet they will ignore us and pick someone who is not with us and ask him to lead our athletes", a very angry coach spoke over the telephone.

A foremost Para Table Tennis player in the country, Eghosa Osaigbovo who represents Edo state in the class 10 category also expressed shock at his non-inclusion in the UK bound team.

"Since 2006, I have remained unbeaten in the country. Nobody has been able to defeat me in class 10 but I don't get invited to the national team. It is time to ask questions", the national sports festival veteran fumed during the interview.

Another national athlete Biola Adesope also expressed sadness over what he termed favouritism by the coaches going into the games.

"I was earlier notified that I was going to be in the team and I have been training seriously but up till now, I have not heard any news from them. It is now less than a month to the commencement of the games but nobody has told me to come to camp. Clearly something is fishy", the class 10 athlete who recently moved to Oyo State from Rivers alleged.

Another team Edo player, Jelili Adedeji who would rather remain philosophical than confrontational is also an aggrieved player who has been snubbed by the national team handlers.

"Nobody can stop my shine, nobody", he kept repeating when speaking to the media.

Investigations revealed that some athletes and coaches, earlier given Commonwealth Games accreditation forms to fill some months back, have now been dropped overnight while all attempts to reach the Chairman, Para division of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), CP Anderson Bankole has so far proved abortive.

author

Niyi Busari

Award winning journalist, Niyi Busari, the Publisher and CEO of BSN Sports Concepts is one of the most celebrated Nigerian sports journalist of his generation. A"cross-over" professional, he combines the talents and abilities of a print and electronic journalist in a manner that is rare, even though his specialization is print. A graduate of Economics from the University of Abuja where he obtained his Bachelor Degree in 2015.

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2 Comments:

Ademola Adedayo says:

Jul 01, 2022

Very interesting. In fact this is exactly what is going on in Nigerian para table tennis sector, to an extent that they want to remove some athletes that were qualified and given a 6 months UK visa for the upcoming commonwealth in UK and replace them with some criminal athletes who in their past committed a big crime to UK. One of them carried drugs to England he was caught and served 3 years imprisonment as inmate. The second one overstayed in London, he was caught and deployed back to Nigeria, when the Nigerian coaches manipulated the screening of the athletes and took him along to Olympic 2012 in London immediately he arrived at the airport British people sent him back to Nigeria because he once overstayed over there. This are the kind of people or criminals they kept selecting to represent our country Nigeria. Among the selected athletes That came back from Birmingham UK last month revealed that a big shame happened to Nigerian athletes in Birmingham, among the whole 21 invited countries it was only Nigerian athletes were not being given their allowances $1,900 to each athletes and coaches. these amounts of money was sent to all invited countries since the month of February 2022. so as to share the amount of $1,900 among all the invited athletes and coaches so that to enable them prepare their selves for traveling to Birmingham. But by reaching there Nigerian athletes were all in full of shame, because they found out that all their counterparts athletes and coaches where given the sum of $1,900 each that was sent from Birmingham to be given to them. Nigerian athletes started crying about their allowance. Their para coaches called the NOC office and asked them what is going on regarding their allowance. but the funniest thing they said that they are reserving the money for the athletes in order not for them to go and misused their own money. Helen, the head of commonwealth organizing committee. She was the person that opened fire to NOC before the sum of $1,220 was sent to each athletes and coaches account. What a shame? According to another athletes that came back from Birmingham last month for GAPS program said: that each player/athlete was there along with his/her state or domestic coach. Why isnâ€™t something like this happening in Nigeria? Why are the right of the athletes domestic coaches used to denied by so called national coaches that some of them canâ€™t even hold a racket? Something serious need to be done about the entire NTTF A serious rehabilitation needed to be done as a matter of urgency. Thanks

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Shegun wasiu says:

Jul 02, 2022

WHAT A SHAME for my country!!! The chairman of the para division of Nigeria national para table tennis NTTF is neglecting his work. He doesnâ€™t visit the national stadium Surulere where this para athletes used for training except for personal reasons. My questions for him are 1, what did he knows about the para table tennis athletes ? 2, what did he knows about their coach who doesnâ€™t even know how to hold a racket not to talk about training someone how to play table tennis? 3, what did he knows about their officials, are they taking good care of these athletes regardless to their individual disabilities? 4, what did he knows about the relationship that existed between the coach, the officials, and that of the athletes? Are the athletes happy with these sets of people? 5, Are these athletes paid or received their allowances and entitlement accordingly when ever they participated in any international or domestic competition or tournaments? Is he checkmating that? 6, What kind of relationship exist between the chairman, the athletes, and their domestic coaches? 7, what contribution is he making towards the life and career of these athletes who chooses to be a table tennis players in terms of motivation, encouragement, in order not to discourage them to go back to the streets for begging as disables? And so many more questions that he canâ€™t defend. These set of coaches and officials are enjoying the negligence of the chairman of this division who is not checkmating their duties which also give them the privilege to continued frustrating any athletes who falls a victim of this division particularly those outside lagos state These sets of coaches and officials have the power to put who they want and remove who they donâ€™t want to participate in any competition or tournaments internationally or domestically without following the due process of either playing trials among the athletes so as to select the best athletes to participate within or outside the country Their behavior of manipulation had also instigated a fraud among the coaches, the officials, and some useless athletes, an athlete would go to the back door and negotiate with them that if they put his/her name in any competition or tournaments he/she sacrificed to share his/her entitlement and allowance with them, which is called 50-50. This word is common in the mouth of national coaches and officials 50-50 Share. The athletes and their domestic coaches have never been given any audience to the chairman of this division, either by the chairman himself or by the national coaches, but maybe is because of they are not indigenous people of lagos state, cos some athletes have access to the chairman office and even call the chairman cell phone at any given time they wish. in fact he never asked the athletes how do they leave their lives in national stadium Surulere, he is a kind of person who doesnâ€™t paid a visit to the athletes in national stadium Surulere or to even invite them to his office so as to listen to any of their problems. In their previous election last year theyâ€™ve succeeded in removing one intelligent athletes who played table tennis both in Nigeria and the rest of the world as player representative and replaced him with one of their caucus member whoâ€™s always have the said regarding who to be selected and who not to be selected in every competition or tournament. A serious rehabilitation is seriously needed in this division in order to rescue the the division, the athletes from falling aparts Regarding the upcoming commonwealth Why are these coaches and officials are trying to impose some criminals in to the list of para athletes that will represent Nigeria in upcoming commonwealth at Birmingham? For your information UK is not Nigerian never compare your kind of misconduct and their integrity. One of these imposed athletes was ones caught with cocaine in UK and was detained and served his penalty in prison for good 3 years imprisonment as inmate. The second one also overstayed in UK for many years after his visa expired he was caught and deployed back to Nigeria. Do you think this guys are useless as you people? To issue this set of criminals with visa to their country? This is fishy I urged the chairman even though heâ€™s not a serious person but those that deserved to represent this country must be allowed to represent our nation not criminals . Commonwealth organization committee invited only 8 athletes and their coaches and some athletes where given their visa already why are you waisting time in your kind of manipulation trying to force some criminals to go to where they didnâ€™t belong to? UK is not Nigeria, better stop buying shame to our country And youâ€™re busy trying to remove some athletes that have their 6 month visa at hand already and replace them with set of criminals who can never be allowed to enter UK except by war. And also trying to remove some officials that have their 6 month visa and replace them with some criminals AY who was sacked out of civil defense and DEMOLA. What are this people going to do their? Are they coaches? What about the right of athletes domestic coaches? Every country that qualified to commonwealth are going there with athletes and coaches, but only Nigeria my country is not even done with the selection of the criminals that will represent my country Nigeria. BIG SHAMEâ€¦.

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