ITTF recognises Toriola’s Olympics feat

Just like the International Olympic Committee, the sole custodian of table tennis globally, the International Table Tennis Federation, has recognised the feat set by one of Africa’s most decorated athletes, Segun Toriola, as the world table tennis ruling body identified with the record to be set by the former African champion at Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.
In the media guide released by ITTF, Toriola’s feat was listed on page 15.
It stated: “Nigeria’s Segun Toriola will be playing his seventh Olympic Games in Rio, which is the most of any African athlete from any Olympic sport.
“Sweden’s Jorgen Persson, Croatia’s Zoran Primorac and Belgium’s Jean-Michel Saive have played in 7 Olympic Games, most of any table tennis player. Nigeria’s Segun Toriola will join them, as he plays his 7th Olympic in Rio.”
The best African performer at the Olympic Games is Toriola, whose outing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China became the reference globally.
Toriola’s biggest achievement at the Olympic Games has been reaching the Men’s Singles 1/16 final at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, beating amongst others former world number one, Jean-Michel Saive, as well as David Zhuang.
His 1/32 match-up with Jean-Michel Saive was seen by many as one of the highlights of the Men’s Singles Tournament.
He narrowly lost 4-3 to heavily favoured Oh Sang-Eun in the 1/16 final.
From record of table tennis at the Olympic Games, no African player or team has won medal but Nigeria is among the 15 countries that have featured in the table tennis event of the Olympic Games since 1988 when table tennis became a medal hauling event at the Olympic Games.
Others are Sweden, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Japan, Korea Republic, Poland and the United States.
Among the six countries that have always had both male and female representation in the table tennis event of the Olympic Games, Nigeria made the list, while others are Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea Republic and the United States..
Also the youngest team playing in Rio is USA Men’s Team with an average age of 20.2 years, while the youngest male player in Rio is USA’s Kanak Jha, who is 16 years, one month and 16 days, with the youngest female player as Fiji’s Sally Yee, who is 15 years three months 27 days.