Nigeria's first table tennis academy is to be established by former African champion, Kasali Lasisi in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.

Former national table tennis coach and captain, Coach Kasali Lasisi, said that the project will be used to discover new talents and set new standard for the sport in Nigeria.

Lasisi said that the project is being supported financially by the Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, who has released some take-off grant for the project.

He charged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to buy into the idea especially as Nigeria targets good outing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

According to him, "the current national players, Segun Toriola, Bolaji Niniola, Musa Atanda, Sule Olaleye, Funke Oshinaike, Barrister Wahab Shittu, Anthony Yerima and others were discovered when I was in the national team as coach, and since then, no new player has joined them.

With the academy, new players would be discovered. With the introduction of the academy, you will see what would happen in the next two years. The academy will make a difference in Nigeria" he said.