The Director of the Jacob Esuene Squash Club Tournament held in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Jacob Esuene has promised to help young talented players discovered at the tournament to hone their skills and become world champions in the nearest future.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the competition, Esuene, who described squash with a great health advantage, recalled that since he ventured into squash, he has overcome high blood pressure naturally without taking any medication.
He promised that the tournament would not end only in the South-South region, adding that with time he would sponsor it to become a national and international event.
“I used to hear how our players were so good at national competitions, but when I came, the story was different. Some of the older players had stopped playing for more than five years because there was nothing to encourage them; so my coach encouraged me to have a private court of ours, hence this court”.
Earlier, a representative of ExxonMobil, Mr. Gus Yupis, said, he was satisfied with the level of the competition, noting that the players and officials exhibited a high level of professionalism.
He opined that with the interest and zeal shown by the young talents during the competition if more awareness were created, more young players would show greater interest in the game of squash, thereby more talents discovered.
“I like the discipline of the kids, the talent, the enthusiasm, and the coaching was absolutely amazing,” he said.
Godsfinger Alison and Emmanuel Ogbemi of Eket and Edo Squash clubs won the U-10 Girls and Boys’ categories at the just concluded inaugural edition of Jacob Esuene Squash Club Tournament held in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.
The competition, which featured players U-10 and U-15 from the South-South region, was held at the Villa Marina Hotel, Eket.
Among the participating clubs are Canaan Club of Calabar, Port Harcourt Club, Uyo Club, Benin Club, Police Officers Mess Club, Yenagoa Sports Club, Nak Club Calabar, NNPC Squash Club of Warri, and Government House Squash Club, Asaba.
Other winners were Kelechi Onyekaze (U-10 girls, Bayelsa], Favour Daniel (Eket), Bright David (U-10 boys, Eket), Udeme Esuene (Eket), and Mitchell Ibanga (Eket).
Winners in the U-15 girls’ category were Delight Temple (Eket), Osas Ogbemi (Edo), Emediong Usoro (Eket) and Victory Lucky (Bayelsa), while the
U-15 boys’ winners were Anthony Monday (Delta), Harold Whyte (Bayelsa), Treasure Temple (Eket) and Timothy Albert (Edo).
