There was euphoria in the atmosphere, gossip on the street corners, and expectations of what was to come in the 2023 Nungua Kpledzoo Table Tennis Championship organized by the J.L Table Tennis Club on the 8th of July 2023.

The weight of expectations on the shoulders of the players from  Blue Rose Table Tennis Club was huge due to their impressive performance in the National Youth Discovery Championship which saw Richard Ofori emerge as the best U19 player and Blessing Labanti as the joint third-best U19 player in the country.

Coming home to participate in the annual Kpledzoo tournament meant that they were going to face stiff opposition due to the quality of players participating in a township that has become the center of table tennis in Ghana.

Richard Ofori had a very shaky start as he lost in a close encounter at the group stage by three games to two (3:2) to Jeremiah Doku of Hope Table Tennis Foundation. The loss made clear the intentions of his opponent to ensure he does not win a sixth consecutive Nungua Kpledzoo Championship.

After several matches, the stage was set for the finals, and as faith may have it, it was between Jeremiah Doku and Richard Ofori. Both players have fought very hard to be in the finals. Jeremiah Doku won by three games to one (3:1) in the semifinals against Francis Antwi, whiles Richard Ofori defeated Issiah Bortier by three games to zero (3:0) in their semi-final encounter.

Jeremiah played an excellent first game ensuring Richard had few opportunities. In the subsequent games played in the best of five, the momentum swang in favor of Richard Ofori, who rediscovered his rhythm after receiving the needed guidelines from his coach Lord Kinful, which ensured the final concluded with three games to one (3:1)  in favor of Richard Ofori.

In an interview with TV Africa, he indicated that

” I needed to put in my best effort as Jeremiah played excellently. He gave me little opportunities so I had to fight very hard and thankfully the God Lord gave me my sixth consecutive title.”