Mustapha upsets Ajulo at Asoju Oba Cup

Unseeded Bello Mustapha rubbished the seeding list yesterday when he bundled out number four seed, Olakunle Ajulo in the round of 32 of the men’s singles of 49th Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Cup.

Mustapha started like a man on a mission, taking a 2-0 (11-6, 11-5) lead. But Ajulo restored parity with 9-11, 8-11 to put the encounter at 2-2. It was indeed a close call for the two players, but the unseeded player had the last laugh with an 11-9 win to complete the 3-2 victory.

With the exception of Ajulo, all the top seeds prevailed in their games, as Rilwan Akanbi, Azeez Solanke and Ahmed Adeyinka all had a smooth sail to the last 16 of the tournament.

Winners have already emerged in the para-table tennis (male and female), as well as doubles and mixed doubles event of cadet and junior categories.

Meanwhile, Solanke has reaffirmed his decision not to lose the title this year.

“I will never allow what happened to me last year repeated itself again because I was in charge of the final last year having come from 3-1 down to level up. But it ill luck cost me the title.

“This year I am in top form having trained very well in the last four weeks for this tournament. The only person I think might want to prove difficult for me is Jamiu Azeez because he is an experienced player,” Solanke said.