Lartey wins Stanbic table tennis top 8 Championship

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA - Beatrice Gyasi of the Ghana Police Service defeated Bernice Borquaye of the Ghana Armed Forces 3-1 in a highly contested fixture to win the females category of the Stanbic Table Tennis Top 8 Championship held at the, Hathramani Hall of the Accra Sports Stadium.

She took home GH₵1,500.00 plus an appearance fee of GH₵250.00 whilst Felix Lartey of the Ghana Immigration Service beat Bernard Joe Sam of Ghana Revenue Authority 3-0 in the finals of the competitions to win GH₵2000.00.

Surprisingly, winners of last year's event Derek Abrefa and Linda Annor were unable to defend their titles as they both picked the third positions in their categories.

Abrefa of Immigration won against Emmanuel Commey also of the Immigration Services 3-1 to occupy the third position in the male category while Annor of Immigration beat pupil teacher Gina Ackman in a three straight win 3-0.

The competition which saw the best eight male and female players of the country were all rewarded with appearance fees and cash prizes.

The President of the Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu was impressed about the vibrancy and quality of play displayed by the participants and hopes more teams will partake in the upcoming league.

He called for a more serious approach towards the game to make it a national sport.

Marketing Officer of Stanbic Bank, the official sponsors of the tournament Mr. Jones Darmoet, said they are committed to making tennis one of the most popular sports in Ghana.

"Stanbic believes in helping people move forward, there is a lot of potential and talent in these players and we intend to give them our maximum support so that Ghana can win more medals in international tournaments."

Meanwhile, the winners of the national table tennis league which ended last year, the Ghana Immigration Service men and women team were handed over their trophies.

GNA