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Byline: Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
Teenage table tennis players from Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Abia, and Delta clinched gold medals at the 2025 Offiong Edem Table Tennis Championship in Calabar, Cross River State.
An athlete from Ultra King Sports Academy, Uyo, also secured gold during the three-day event.
In the Under-13 boys’ category, Delta’s Idoko Ifesinachi took gold, while Enare Obasi won the girls’ category. For the Under-15 girls’ competition, Abia’s Elizabeth Emelike emerged victorious, and Anambra’s Ezeafor Gabriel won the boys’ category.
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In the youth categories, Abia’s Chineye Okafor claimed the girls’ title, while Aniekan Bassey from Ultra King Academy, Uyo, won the boys’ title.
Eighteen other athletes earned silver and bronze medals across six categories. Offiong Edem, CEO of the Offiong Edem Foundation and event sponsor, awarded over N2.5 million in cash and equipment. Edem, a five-time Olympian now coaching in the United States, said, “I am interested in producing other Offiong Edems by encouraging the young talents and sharing what I have with them.”
Usen Umoh, Vice Chairman of the Cross River Table Tennis Federation, emphasised sports as a way to engage youth, stating that facilities could keep them off the streets. About 83 players from eight states and the Ultra King Academy participated.
