Talented Youths Shine at 6th Adebiyi Racket Festival

The sixth edition of the Mama Tunde Alaso Racket Festival saw new champions emerge in badminton, squash, and tennis. The week-long tournament wrapped up over the weekend at the Ibadan Recreation Club, right across from Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan.

Organised by Adekunle Adebiyi, a former Nigerian squash player, the competition brought together young talents and well-known players from all over Nigeria. They came to compete for titles in the three racket sports.

In badminton, the men’s final was an all-Ogun State clash. Adenekan Samuel beat Abayomi Samuel 2-0 with scores of 21-18 and 21-19 to take the title. In the women’s final, Odunayo Omotayo from Ogun State defeated Babatunde Dolapo from Ondo State 2-0, with scores of 21-11 and 21-18.

The squash courts had some thrilling matches in the junior categories. In the Under-15 girls’ final, Esther Bob won against Elizabeth Adebayo 3-0 with scores of 11-3, 15-13, and 12-10. For the boys, Miracle Ekpo narrowly beat Daniel Awe 3-2 with scores of 11-8, 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, and 11-6. In the Under-19 category, Zainab Ishola defeated Elizabeth Adebayo 3-1, with scores of 7-11, 11-3, 11-2, and 12-10. Elisha Daniel won against Nanme Rindap 3-2 with scores of 11-5, 3-11, 9-11, 11-4, and 11-6.

All the prize money came from Taylor Afolayan, who supports grassroots sports development. In squash, ₦100,000 was shared equally among winners in the Under-19 and Under-15 boys' and girls' categories. Each champion also got a new racket and racket bag. In badminton and tennis, winners received two new rackets, racket bags, and awards. Runners-up got one racket, a racket bag, and an award.

A raffle draw brought more fun to the closing ceremony. U-15 player Thomas Emmanuel won the grand prize of a laptop. Other winners took home AirPods, power banks, handbags, and cash prizes.

Taylor Afolayan, President of the Nigeria Squash Federation, attended the finals along with Sunday Wilson Egberipou and other notable guests. They praised the organisers for keeping the festival alive and for promoting racket sports at the grassroots level.

The event concluded with calls for more support from the private sector. This support is needed to find and develop the next generation of Nigerian champions in badminton, squash, and tennis.