Spinners go top of the table - As 12-year-old steals show
Tesano Spinners Table Tennis Club last Saturday dethroned Immigration from the top of the ladder after defeating them 3-2 in match one of the league staged at the D.G. Hathiramani Sports Hall of the Accra Stadium.
Top seed Derek Abrefa was beaten 3-2 by Nigerian import Ahmed Bello in a pulsating encounter before fellow Nigerian Akimbi Rilwan thrashed second seed Felix Lartey 3-1 to put Spinners ahead.
The Ghanaian duo came back strongly to win the doubles, but it was too little too late as Spinners scored a 2-1 victory to ascend to the top of the league log with 18 points, two more than second-placed Immigration.
However, it was the exploits and the magical display of a 12-year-old pupil from Kwanyako Roman Catholic Basic School who stole the show on the day.
Young Ibrahim Gedo, who started playing ping pong two years ago, caused an upset when he combined with a teammate of the Team Coach Addo Ping Pong Club to defeat the Marina Stars double team.
Earlier, the youngster fought gallantly against an opponent of Madina Stars but lost the singles 1-3.
But the sensational display of the young left-handed who combines both forehand and backhand dazzled caught the attention of fans all at the hall.
In other matches of the day, Team Coach Addo beat Madina Stars 3-1, Army beat Ashaiman Club 3-0, Team Baboo 3-1 while Otumfuo Stars lost 1-3 to Police before GRA thrash Loopers 3-0.
The rest of round one matches saw Kings Royal Academy beat Fire Service 3-1 and Navy thrash Western Club 3-0.
In the second round of matches, Immigration beat Madina Stars 3-0, Army lost 0-3 to Spinners, Coach Addo beat Team Baboo 3-2 and Otumfuo Stars thrashed Ashaiman Club 3-0.
In other results, Police beat Loopers 3-2, EMEFs defeated Navy 3-1, Kings Royal Academy beat Western Club 3-0 and Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA) beat Fire 3-1.
In the ladies division, Spinners, featuring Nigerian star Fatimo Bello and Bose Odunfanya, beat EMEFs 3-0 to stay atop the ladder with nine points, Madina Club defeated Otumfuo Stars 3-2, GRA beat Western 3-0 and Immigration won 3-2 against Police.