The Nigeria table tennis team surprised many at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, particularly the scintillating performance of Aruna Quadri, who made it to the quarterfinal of the men’s singles event after beating two of the world’s top players to become the first African to play in the last eight of the Olympic Games.
A proud President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Wahid Oshodi, believes the outing in Brazil has confirmed that with more support, table tennis is capable of claiming medal for Nigeria at the multi-sports competition.
After becoming the best team outside Asia and Europe to have performed excellently well at the Olympic Games, Oshodi said he is proud of the Team Nigeria.
Oshodi, whose administration has brought vibrancy and change the fortune of table tennis in Nigeria, said despite the lack of support from those in charge of sports in Nigeria, the players raised their game to win the heart of many in Brazil.
He said: “I am quite pleased with the players.
“They have shown commitment and have strived to give their best.
“Everybody won a match and got into the main draw of the tournament and at this level that is not an easy task.
“They have all come together and supported each other even when support seemed to be lacking.
“With Quadri’s excellent performance in reaching the quarterfinal and Segun Toriola getting to the 2nd round, I must confess that I am quite elated and proud of this team.
“They have done the country proud.
“This is by far the best performance by a table tennis team outside Asia and Europe ever and must be celebrated.
“If you also look at the quality of players that we defeated, then one must take his hat off for the players.
“It is a phenomenal performance taking all the circumstances of our preparation into consideration.”
On what the feat of Aruna Quadri would impact on the sport, the practising lawyer said: “This just goes to confirm what we know about our players.
“They have the talent and if you can combine that with hard work, commitment to your job, discipline and a lot of humility then you can get to the top of the world game.
“We have a lot of gifted players in Nigeria but what is lacking in many of them is the willpower to put in the work.
“Segun Toriola, Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun, Edem Offiong and Funke Oshonaike continue to show the way and I hope many others will follow.
“As I have been trumpeting for a while now, we have probably the best crop of young junior players outside China and Japan and if we can harness their talents properly, then I make bold to say that in the next five years we can challenge the Chinese for the number one spot.
“But in main our problems like lack of funding, lack of seriousness and the right kind of exposure for our coaches and players still continue to hamper us.”
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