The week long maiden edition of the Chamberlain Squash Open which held at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja has ended amidst funfair and world class squash action.
The event which was championed by Chamberlain Usoh, had in attendance dignitaries and celebrities like representatives of the Akwa Ibom state Governor, Mr Samuel Bassey and his wife; the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni; Nollywood star, Ramsey Nouah amongst others.
The first game of the grand finale was the women’s final between Nigerian no 1, Yemisi Olatunji and her compatriot, Udeme James. Yemisi who has been brilliant all tournament long didn’t fail to impress as she recorded a convincing 3-0 win. The top seed who defeated Udeme thanked God for her victory saying: ‘I am quite excited and feel very great about myself. The strategy coming into the competition was to win every game so it was not about being into the finals.’ Udeme was however hampered by an injury she suffered during the game as she had to go for treatment from the medics before finishing up the game.
It was then all set for the men’s finals between no 60 in the world, Tom Ford of England and Tunde Ajagbe who is ranked no 1 in Nigeria. As expected, the crowd rallied behind their man from Nigeria but that wasn’t enough to distabilize Tom who recorded an impressive 3-1 win over Tunde. ‘It’s been a fantastic experience. Since Mark and I arrived, we’ve felt so welcomed and the organisers have done absolutely everything to make our stay good and the tournament an incredible experience. It’s probably one of the best tournaments and it’s great to see many people turn up to watch,’ Tom said after his win. The winners will go home with $1,805 while the runner-ups make do with $1,235.
Chamberlain Usoh who is the visionary behind the tournament also expressed delight at the way things turned out saying the idea behind the competition is to promote and develop squash in the country.
Side attraction included an exhibition game between Fatai Owoseni and Ramsey Nouah, which the Police Commissioner won 11-8. Below are some of pictures from the final day of the tournament.
