How Oshonaike kept Filipino sensation in check

Playing against a player young enough to be your daughter could sometimes come with a lot of challenge and this was what played out when African Champion, Olufunke Oshonaike (NGR) played against 12-year-old[G30] Rizumu Ono of Philippines in the women’s singles preliminary round at the 2017 ITTF World Championships holding in Dusseldorf, Germany.
With more than three decades age difference between the two players on table nine but the teenager, who started playing table tennis at age three threw caution to the wind by ensuring that Olufunke Oshonaike was stretched to the limit in the encounter that had all the trappings of a star match.
From the start of the encounter, the young Filipino, whose father is a Japanese reporter and mother is a former Philippines table tennis player had an edge to race to a 10-7 lead in the first game, but with a lot still up her sleeves, Oshonaike restored parity at 10-10 for the encounter to end at 14-12 in favour of the veteran.
With much experience, Oshonaike took a 3-0 lead but the match was not beyond the teenager who won two games to put the tie at 3-2.
It was becoming clear to Olufunke Oshonaike that the teenager, who lives and trains in Saitama, near Tokyo, Japan, still had a lot of offer and the sixth game became a tough encounter for the players, with the Nigerian needing just a point to end the game at 11-8, but the young Filipino won a point to put the match at 10-9, while a time-out call for Oshonaike’s coach – Segun Toriola could not prevent the teenager from putting the encounter at 10-10.
At 10-10, Olufunke Oshonaike knew that the tide could turn for her but with a lot of support from her German fans coupled with tactical discipline, Oshonaike ended the encounter at 12-10 to win at 4-2 to the admiration of her fans.
Explaining what she went through in the encounter, Olufunke Oshonaike said: “I must admit that I had never been so nervous like this in my life particularly playing against the young girl who is not even up to my first son’s age of 14. I was very nervous before the match because after watching her game on YouTube, I discovered that she had been playing at six and she had been playing so well. I was so scared because she is so talented that even before the match, I could not sleep well. I knew that if I don’t beat her I won’t be able to make it out of the group. She won her first game and beating her remains a key focus for me. I must tell you that I was really scared that what I will tell Nigerians that a 12-year-old girl beat him without knowing that the girl is more talented than her age.”[G31]  “When the match was 3-2, a lot of things was going through my mind and I was just thinking that I should not lose to this girl and if at all I lose, I will not be able to make it to the knockout stage of the competition. I thank God I stayed calm and the support from my German fans who travelled from Hamburg to support really helped me. But the experience was the main secret that saved me from the talented girl. I believe I can now sleep well tonight and hope for victory in the next game to ascertain my place in the knockout round,” [G32] [G33] Olufunke Oshonaike admitted.