Players from Ogun State have reached the Men’s and Women’s Singles final matches at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The first ticket was punched in the Men’s Singles event when Christopher Bulus came from 0-3 to beat Daniel Adeleye of Ekiti State 6-3, 6-2 and effectively reach the finals of the second national event in 2025.
The Women’s semifinal was where a lot of drama happened as Ohunene Yakubu of Team Ogun fought assiduously against Success Ogunjobi from Ekiti State to reach the finals of the Sports Festival for the first time ever.
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Yakubu dominated the first set and took a 4-1 lead but could not sustain play when her opponent came rampaging against her. She, however, took charge of the game and forced a 7-5 win in the first set.
In the second set, the Ekiti State player was a lot more clinical, moving to a 6-4 win to take the match into a final set tie. Her opponent would not give up and kept her composure to finally win 6-4 and qualify Ogun State for the Women’s Singles final.
Yakubu, the highest ranked Nigerian female player on the Junior ITF ranking, will be playing the final against Oyinlomo Quadre (Delta) in what promises to be as exciting as thrilling. The US-based player and the tournament’s number one seed beat Omotayo Blessing (Edo) 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final.
The second Men’s Singles semifinal match between David Ekpenyong (Bayelsa) and Canice Abua (Rivers) was another match for the ages. Both players went toe-to-toe during the encounter and it was worthwhile.
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Abua, smarting up from his quarterfinal battle against Yusuf Abubakar (FCT) gave Ekpenyong a fight for his money, taking a 7-5 lead. he would later succumb in the second and final set as his opponent won 6-3, 6-3.
The Bayelsa State player will now take on Bulus, representing Ogun State, in the Men’s Singles final which will be another classic!
The final match is expected to serve off on Sunday, 25 May, inside the tennis section of the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta.