By Olalekan Okusan, Tunis, Tunisia
The President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Ishaku Tikon is excited that the trio of Olufunke Oshonaike, Offiong Edem and Olajide Omotayo has qualified for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The NTTF boss who could not contain his excitement after the players booked their places at the end of the qualifying tournament in Tunisia at the weekend, said the players have shown that they are committed to the game, while lamenting the injury that knocked Aruna Quadri of the qualifiers.
“I am so happy with the outcome of the qualifiers because the players gave a good account of themselves and all our efforts in the last four years were not wasted. They fought well against strong adversaries in Tunis and they emerged victorious.
“It is not only that they qualified, the manner they picked the tickets is exciting to me because they were able to win all their matches to pick their tickets. I am very happy and I believe that this qualification will encourage the government to continue to support table tennis in Nigeria as the sport has continue to bring honour to the country,” Tikon added.
He however, rued the inability of Aruna Quardi to qualify for the Olympics in Tunisia due to injury. He described Quadri as a dedicated Nigerian whose exploits have brought glory and honour to the country.
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He allayed fear over the inability of Quadri to qualify for the Olympics in Tunisia assuring g that he could still berth in Tokyo through other criteria. “With the present ranking of Aruna Quadri, he will still make it to Tokyo. It was just that Quadri is a committed Nigerian, it was not necessary for him to compete in the qualifiers because with his world ranking, he will be at the games. His participation Tunis shows that he is a patriot and I wish him quick recovery as he has been advised by the medical team in Tunisia to rest for one month before returning to action,” Tikon said.
The NTTF boss lauded the Ministry of Youth and Sports for their unflinching support particularly the Minister, Sunday Dare for showing support to the team since his assumption of office.
Oshonaike will be making her seventh appearance at Tokyo 2020 as the first African female athlete to achieve such feat while Edem will be attending her fourth Games. Omotayo will be making his debut in Tokyo.
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