At the colourful presentation held at the Riocentro Pavilion 3 in Rio, Toriola was joined by three other table tennis stars that have competed in seven Olympic Games: Zoran Primorac (Croatia), Jörgen Persson (Sweden) and Jean-Michel Saive (Belgium) as well as ITTF helmsman
Browsing: Segun Toriola
According to the ITTF Promotion and Media Manager, Matthew Pound, Toriola will be joined in the celebration by three other table tennis stars that have competed in seven Olympic Games – Croatia’s Zoran Primorac, Sweden’s Jörgen Persson and Belgium’s Jean-Michel Saive
The 41-year-old Toriola had his seventh appearance in the current Games, equaling the table tennis record.
This has made him the most capped African Olympian
Not long after his defeat, Toriola, who made history by joining the elite stars’ club of players to have attended seven Olympics, turned out to be the beautiful bride sought after by many countries to sign as their coach
Toriola, who is making a record appearance in the competition, beat Dmitrij Prokopcov of the Czech Republic 4-2 in the Men’s Singles Round One
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
“I feel very great about my seventh Olympic Games because it is a record for me, Nigeria and for the continent of Africa. At the beginning of my career, I didn’t know that I’m going to play in seven Olympics but here I am heading to Rio and I am super excited for this feat,” he said
For appearing at every Olympic Games since his debut at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games in Spain, Toriola has been lauded for being the first athlete from the continent to be making seven appearances at the Olympic Games
Toriola, 42, who will be making history in Brazil as the first African athlete to feature in seven Olympics, said he has never seen this kind of preparation since he made his debut at the Olympics at Barcelona 1992 in Spain
Toriola will join 63 others, including compatriot Aruna Quadri, to compete in the men’s singles event of the Olympic Games, while the Africa’s most decorated player will lead the continent’s representative, Nigeria, with other 15 best teams on earth to battle to be crowned Olympic Team Champion
In the list released by the world table tennis ruling body, Team Nigeria will fly Africa’s flag in the event alongside world and Asia champion, China, as well as Germany, United States, Australia and host, Brazil
Toriola, a finalist at the 2013 edition of the competition, said he is optimistic that Nigerian players have the wherewithal to claim the laurel, but three-time winner, Egypt’s Omar Assar, has been “extra-ordinary lucky” to have claimed the titles ahead of the local players
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that prior to the ITTF World Team Championship in Malaysia, Nigeria was rated 32 behind Egypt, which placed 25
To top Group F, Nigeria defeated Turkey, Switzerland, India, Slovakia and Vietnam, while Egypt overcame Mexico, Norway, Argentina, Slovenia and Hungary
NAN reports that the competition is for national teams to gain slots for participation in the team events at the 2016 Olympic Games scheduled for Rio, Brazil
Later in the day, Egypt showed their class against Mexico when Omar Assar, Mohammed El-Beiali and El-Sayed Lashin whitewashed their Mexican counterparts with a 3-0 bashing
After achieving the amazing feat, the four time All-African Games champion, who made his Olympic debut back at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, stated: “I am very excited about this achievement, I never thought I could be playing a seventh Olympic Games in my career. I am honoured that I made history as the African to achieve this feat
Those selected were six-time Olympian and African table tennis king, Segun Toriola; ITTF World Star, Aruna Quadri; African women’s single champion, Funke Oshonaike; and Doubles champion, Offiong Edem
In the women category, Egypt defeated Nigeria to retain the women’s team title
Toriola, in his usual style, fought well against China’s Sheng-Sheng Huang, recovering from 3-0 down to level up at 3-3 and finally surrendering the seventh game to bow out gallantly from the tournament