75 players from 10 states and the FCT are currently jostling for one million naira prize money in the ongoing first edition of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Open Squash Challenge in Abuja.
The Chairman, Nigeria Police Squash Association, CSP Yakubu Mailafiya, stated this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the competition.
He gave a breakdown of the prize money for both male and female categories, with the male gold winner going home with N200, 000.
“The prize money for this tournament is N200,000 for gold in the male category, N120,000 for the silver while the joint third position winners will get N70,000 each.
“Besides, 32 of them will be going home with prices depending on the level they get to.
“The last eight will go home with N30,000 each, round of 16 finishers will get N15,000 each just as round of 32 finishers will smile home with N10,000,” he said.
According to him, for the female category, the gold winner will get N150,000, silver winner N80,000 and joint third N40,000 each.
“In the male category, 50 participants registered online while we have over 25 females,” he said.
According to him, the states participating in the competition include Lagos, Plateau, Delta, FCT, Edo, Niger, Kaduna, Rivers, Kwara, Oyo among others.
Mailafiya explained that the aim of the week-long event was to hunt for talents with plans to make it an annual event.
Earlier the IGP, Usman Alkali Baba, represented by Force Sports Officer, Force Director of Sports, DSP Patrick Atayero, said the competition would go a long way in developing the game of squash in Nigeria.
“The essence of this competition is to promote the game of squash. We want to also use it to take the youth off the streets.
“We want to bring out the potential in the young ones. As for the sustenance of the game, I can assure you that the IGP has endorsed it to be an annual event with the corporation of the federation,” he said.
Uchenna Ubah, who represented the Squash Federation Caretaker chairman, commended the IGP and the police for sponsoring the tournament.
(NAN)