Team Delta continued her defence of the National Sports Festival trophy by securing yet another Gold medal in the finals of the male team table tennis event held at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Stephen Keshi Stadium on Friday afternoon, following the marker set by their female counterparts.
In the intriguing match between hosts, Team Delta and Team Ondo, which continued from Thursday evening, Team Delta managed to scrape a 3-2 win after Jamiu Ayanwale won in the final team singles after Team Delta managed to tie the game 2-2 in the doubles team match.
The match winner, Jamiu Ayanwale, who was all smiles at the end of the match, revealed that while he felt nervous going into the game, with the burden of expectations on his shoulders to win, he just focused on getting any available point with the hopes of winning.
“I feel so good, although it was very difficult for me initially, I tried my best to focus on my game to win the match. I was not so confident because my opponent is also a good player. So, at any point, I made sure to take the points”, he said.
Coach Mano of Team Delta who described Ayanwale as his saviour, expressed satisfaction with the win, even though he admitted not being too certain of a victory, considering how the game had panned out.
“I feel very happy, I was sure he is going to win but not 100 per cent. He has been my saviour since the beginning of the match yesterday, he is the one that has been saving the team”.
On his expectations, Coach Mano said he hopes to win at least two more gold medals from the remaining five medals available from the Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles and Women and Men Doubles.
