Nigeria’s table tennis run at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics has suffered a setback with the elimination of three out of four players.
Offiong Edem became the latest Nigerian to exit the competition, losing 4-0 to Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi in the women’s singles Round of 64. This followed the earlier defeats of Quadri Aruna and Olajide Omotayo in the men’s singles.
Olajide Omotayo kicked off the disappointing run with a 4-1 loss to Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan, despite winning the opening set.Aruna’s exit was even more dramatic as he squandered a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 to 19-year-old Romanian Eduard Ionescu.
Nigeria’s last hope, Fatimo Bello, will compete against Jia Nan Yuan in the women’s singles Round of 64 on Monday by 9 o’clock in the morning.
No doubt the early exits of the Nigerian table tennis players are a major disappointment for the country and it is the hope of many that this would undoubtedly lead to a review of the team’s preparations for future competitions.