Femi Solaja

A few days after surrendering his national title, Matthew Kuti has reclaimed his gong at the 10th Elicris Table Tennis Cup held at Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Similarly,Hope Udoaka ruled the women's singles.

Kuti was dethroned by Abdulbasit Abdulfatai at the Daniel Ford tournament but the teenage sensation put the defeat behind him to rally from 2-0 down to beat Muiz Adegoke 4-2 in the men's singles of the Elcris Table Tennis championship..

To emerge champion, Kuti won 4-2 (4-11, 6-11, 13-11, 11-5, 11-5, 12-10).

A delighted Kuti described the win as a good return to the top of the game in the country.

Earlier in the day, Udoaka of Cross River confirmed her dominance in the country after beating Sukurat Aiyelabegan 4-2 in the final of the women's singles.

Despite winning the first game at 11-4, Aiyelabegan fell short of her dominance as she was humbled by her experienced opponent to concede defeat at 4-2 (4-11, 11-4, 14-12, 11-9, 13-15, 11-7).

For the sponsor, Yomi Adejobi, there are plans to expand the tournament with more players competing in the next edition. "Our aim is to empower the young players and we believe with this kind of tournament we can identify talent and also nurture them to stardom," he said.

The guest of honour, Gbenga Omotosho who is the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, lauded the sponsor for bankrolling the tournament, adding that it is in tandem with the state's Governor's vision for youth empowerment through sports. "We must thank the sponsor for this gesture and we hope other well-meaning individuals will take a cue from this and more young players will be empowered through sports," he said