Pa Onakoya, the father of Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya, has said that he never supported his son in playing Chess.
Naijaonpoint recalls that on April 17, Onakoya commenced his attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
On April 20, Onakoya broke the record for the longest-ever chess marathon, clocking 60 hours at Times Square in New York, United States.
In a video making the rounds online, Pa Onakoya described the Chess master as resilient, stating that he never knew that Chess would make him popular.
According to him, when Tunde was a child, he would pack everything away whenever he saw him playing Chess because he wanted him to focus on his academics.
Pa Onakoya further advised Nigerian parents to encourage their children to follow their passion.
He said, “To me, Babatunde Onakoya is an angel because whatever he set his mind on must succeed.
“As a small child, when Tunde was playing Chess, I usually packed everything away from him because I wanted him to focus on school. I didn’t know that it was what would make him popular like this.
“My advice for parents is that they shouldn’t discourage their children from their passions. I wanted Tunde to be a doctor but I didn’t know that Chess would make him popular like this. I thank God.”
Onakoya broke the record of Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad, who played for 56 hours and 9 minutes in 2018.
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