Samuel Kehinde beat Gabriel Olufunmilayo 2-1 (10-12, 11-7, 7-4) to win the inaugural Mailafia Memorial Men’s Open Tournament in Abuja.
Gabriel Olufunmilayo retired in the third set after sustaining a minor injury in the final to get room for Samuel Kehinde to emerge champion.
In the semifinal matches, Samuel Kehinde defeated Abel Shedrack 3-0 (11-3, 13-11, 11-5) while Gabriel Olufunmilayo beat Faruq Suleiman 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-5) respectively.
Sponsor of the tournament, Yakubu Mailafia told www.aclsports.com that there is room for improvement in subsequent editions.
Mailafia, a Chief Superintendent of Police applauded the technical crew who made the open a success.
He revealed that plans are underway to have more tournaments in the North to encourage the youths.
He said, “I am very satisfied bearing in mind the time we had to put in the event, and the outcome is okay, but there is room for improvement.
“The 1st Mailafia Memorial Men’s Tournament was a huge success. My father will be proud of us wherever he is. This tournament was planned in just two weeks, we in the Mailafia peace and unity foundation appreciate God for everything.
“We also appreciate Jonah Attah who is the anchorman; the tournament director Peter Oluwaseun, and Uche Mbah all board members for making this 1st edition a success and not forgetting our president, Boye Oyerinde for his moral support”.
“The Squash community should expect a bigger and better tournament in 2024. It is our desire in the foundation to have both male and female as well the junior categories if possible, but it will be dependent on the availability of funds.
“The plans are to have many tournaments up here in the North to develop and encourage our youth to engage them as well as take them out of the street. We are called on all well-meaning Nigerians to partner with us to assist the youth in our society”, he added.
