Leadership (Abuja)
Ishola Bashir
21 March 2008
Abuja — As the countdown to the 1st Shehu Musa Yar Adua National Open Squash Championships continues, players are thrilled with the mouth-watering cash prizes on offer. The Secretariat of the Nigeria Squash Rackets Federation had been a beehive of activities with players trooping in to confirm whether indeed, over four million naira would be doled out as prizes in the four categories.
Secretary General of the federation, Mr. Sunny Obot, yesterday re-affirmed that the tournament had over four million naira set aside as prize money.
"We intend to break existing records with this championship which would mark the great re-launch of our sport", the Secretary told reporters in his Lagos office.
He informed that the star prize for the tournament was a quarter of a million which exceeds the current record.
Obot remarked that the federation was determined to deliver a championship that would take squash back to its glorious days. "I am confident that this upcoming championship would be marking a positive turn in the story of squash in this country", Obot stressed.
Meanwhile, the NSRF has inaugurated nine sub committees to prosecute the Ist Shehu Musa Yar Adua National Open Championship.
Chairman of the Media and Publicity sub-committee, Mr. Ikpo Igbinoba said the committees include, Finance, Marketing,Medical, Technical, Accommodation, Transport, Protocol and Ceremonial, Security and Media and Publicity.
Igbinoba said the committees were set up and given a mandate to ensure a befitting tournament in honour of the late Yar Adua, whom he described as a national icon.
Players, are excited at the jumbo cash prizes. Two of the players who were at the NSRA secretariat expressed their feeling in separate chats with reporters.
Former junior champion, Shola Thomas said he was going to train very hard to win the star prize. "I am going to work very hard. At last the days of peanut prizes are gone from squash," Thomas said.
Tunde Ajagbe also expressed similar sentiments with a vow that he would put in his very best.
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