Girls
By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu
Lagos, Aug. 1, 2018 (NAN) John Peters, an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) referee, on Wednesday in Lagos urged coaches in the country to give more concentration to talent-hunt among girl-players.
Peters told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) this was necessary as only 24 girls registered as against the available 32 slots at the ongoing national junior table tennis league.
NAN reports that 48 boys and 24 girls are participating in the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) league holding at the National Stadium in Lagos from July 28 to Sunday.
“The coaches need to put in more efforts to scout for more talents, particularly in the female category, so as to nurture them to competition standard for them to benefit from this league.
“The ITTF, which NTTF is affiliated to, provided 32 slots for girls and 40 for boys. But the girls’ slots were not taken up, while the slots in the boys category were oversubscribed.
“So, the coaches in view of this shortfall should go the extra mile to scout for more girls to promote gender equality, which we encourage in the sport,” Peters said.
The blue-badge referee expressed confidence in the fact that such a talent-hunt by coaches would go a long way to identify hidden talents, especially in the private schools.
“At least, this is part of the objectives of the league,’’ he said.
Peters also said young and upcoming female players were available in the private schools, with the school authorities encouraging them through the provision of facilities for them to practise the sport.
“The search to identify potential players in the girls category should be in private schools, where table tennis is being promoted and facilities is made available to help them develop their skills,” he said.(NAN)
MIL/ENN/OLAL
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu and Olawale Alabi)