The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil

  • ITTF Africa celebrates Quadri’s Rio Olympic feat 

    ITTF Africa celebrates Quadri’s Rio Olympic feat 

    For becoming the first player in Africa to make it to the quarterfinal stage of the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, the executive council of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa has acknowledged the feat of the Nigerian with an award of outstanding performance.

    The presentation of the award was performed by the ITTF Africa President, Khaled El-Salhy including Vice President of ITTF, Cherif Hajem.

    The ITTF boss said it was coincident that two Nigerians – Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri put Africa on the world map in Rio and for this, the Executive Committee agreed at their meeting that the two players must be acknowledged and honour in order to motivate upcoming players to aim high like them.

    “We were overwhelmed with the huge publicity that Africa got in the table tennis event of Rio Olympic Games because of the performance of Aruna Quadri because, in the history of table tennis, no African has made it to the last eight of the Olympic Games.

    “Players like Aruna Quadri are very rare and I know his performance was due to his commitment and hard work which were obvious in his performance. This honour is not just to celebrate him but to also inspire other players to work hard because without hard work and discipline it will be impossible for any player to make it to the world stage,” he said.

    “From his performance at the 2014 World Cup in Germany where he became the first African to make it to the quarterfinal round of the competition to being named the 2014 ITTF Star Player at the Star Award, Aruna Quadri has raised the bar for others to aim at and with his performance of record, more people in the continent are now paying attention to the sport and we hope he will continue to move up and other African players will surely come through,” El-Salhy added.

  • AFN names 25 females, 11 males for Rio Olympics

    No fewer than 36 athletes have been selected by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to represent the country at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.

    Their names are in a statement by the AFN Technical Director, Omatseye Nesiama and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.

    The athletes, made up of 25 females and 11 males, will represent the country at the Games scheduled for Aug. 5 to Aug. 19.

    In the women’s 100m are Blessing Okagbare, Gloria Asumnu and Jennifer Madu, while the male 100m sprinters are Ogho-Oghene Egwero, Adeseye Ogunlewe and Monzavous Edwards, the statement said.

    It noted that Blessing Okagbare will be the only female athlete to represent the country in the women’s 200m, while the men’s 200m sprinters are Divine Oduduru and Oghenetega Odele.

    The quarter milers in the women’s event are Patience Okon-George, Margaret Bamgbose and Omolara Omotosho.

    Orukpe Eraiyokan is the only quarter miler in the men’s category, it added.

    In the 100m Hurdle is Oluwatobiloba Amusan, while Antwon Hicks will feature in the 110m Hurdle in the men’s category.

    Amaka Ogoegbunam and Miles Ukaoma will feature in the 400m Hurdles women’s and men’s category respectively.

    In the High Jump women’s event is Doreen Amata, while Ese Brume will feature in the Long Jump event.

    Chinwe Okoro will feature in the Discus event and Nwanneka Okwelogu in the women’s Shot Put.

    In the men’s Triple Jump are Tosin Oke and Olumide Olamigoke, while Steven Mozia will participate in the Shot Put event.

    Uhunoma Osazuwa is the only athlete for Heptathlon event.

    The women in the 4x100m event are Blessing Okagbare, Peace Alphonsus Uko, Gloria Asumnu, Agnes Osazuwa, Jennifer Madu, Zainab Sanni, Cecilia Francis, Olivia Ekpone and Kadijah Suleiman.

    The 4x400m relay list comprises of Patience Okon George, Omolara Omotosho, Margaret Bamgbose, Regina George, Yinka Ajayi, Rita Vivian Ossai, Blessing Mayungbe, Funke Ogunbase and Ekundayo Sogbesan.

  • “I want to inspire young athletes with my achievements”

    “I want to inspire young athletes with my achievements”

    History is indeed in the making for Nigeria at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil as table tennis will put the country on the world and continent maps when Segun Toriola takes part in his seventh Olympic Games as the first African to achieve such feat.

    In the history of Nigerian sports, Toriola remains one of the most successful athletes that had won series of laurels for Nigeria at continental and Commonwealth levels. His records as the most decorated athlete in Africa is unequaled while his commitment to the business of Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized.

    The 41 year-old was a very sad man on Wednesday when he said that despite all his efforts to put Nigeria on global map, there has not been any national recognition for his efforts but the erstwhile African king believes his achievement is sports should serve as inspiration for upcoming athletes.

    When Segun Toriola joined the league on athletes listed among the seventh heaven in table tennis, it was celebrated across the globe by current and ex-table tennis stars. But despite several accolades that greeted his qualification for a seventh consecutive Olympic Game, there has not been any national recognition for the African legend.

    A nation that has conferred national honours on football players that won a cadet competition is yet to deem it fit to recognise the efforts of an athlete that has given more than three decades to serve his fatherland with a lot of international medals to show for it.

    In the midst of this, a saddened Toriola said: “It is sad that my country has not deemed it fit to recognise my efforts.  I know that if I had been a Briton, I should have been conferred with a national honour by the Queen of England. I think this is not too good for the country as this might discourage upcoming athletes. But I most times take solace in the fact that the country gave me the platform to enter into the annals of history,” he lamented.

    Segun-ToriolaIn Africa, Toriola remains a role model for athletes as his comportment as well as commitment to the Nigeria project cannot be questioned. His unassuming disposition towards wearing the colours of Nigeria has endeared him to the hearts of many across the globe.

    Recalling how his journey to stardom at the Olympic Games, Toriola said: “I could still recollect my first appearance at the Olympic games in Barcelona 1992 where I was the youngest member of Nigeria table tennis team that has greats like Atanda Musa and Yomi Bankole. I qualified for the doubles event while Musa and Bankole played in the singles. In those days, the qualification system for the Olympics was a bit harder and I managed to make the cut for Africa. It was a moment I will never forget particularly playing at the biggest stage alongside some of my idols in the sport.”

    For Toriola, qualifying for the Olympics is the peak in the career of every athlete and he emphasized that the Olympics is the biggest platform for athletes to showcase their talents to the whole world.

    “I am so surprised when I hear people asking about what have I won at the Olympics? But they must realise that going to the Olympics never comes on a platter of gold as one has to qualify to be at the Olympics. Some of the world’s successful athletes never compete at the Olympics. So for me playing at the seventh Olympics was not something I envisaged when I went to my first Olympics. But what kept the dream ignited in me was the fact that I wanted to emulate some of my idols in the sport.

    “I used to look up to Atanda and Yomi because they were the legends of the game.  Apart from playing along them in major competitions, they were great players that most of us wanted to emulate as I used to sleep with their pictures while I follow across the world. So for me I wanted to be like these great stars, and this was what spurred me on in the sport.”

    In Rio, the former African champion believes nothing is possible as every participant has an equal chance to make it to the podium based on the new playing format been applied by ITTF.

    “I believe that we have a chance to do something better in Rio because every country has the chance to make it to the podium. If countries like England can claimed bronze at the World Championship, nothing stops us to doing more in Brazil. In Rio I want to make my country proud and we can do well with the present form of Aruna Quadri, who has established himself as one of the world’s most respected table tennis players,” he added.

    For him, playing at the Olympic Games is reserved for the best. “People should also realise that Olympics is for the best in the world. Nigeria should realise that any athlete that makes it to the Olympics should be commended, as not many great athletes feature at the Olympics.”

    For his three decades service to Nigeria, Toriola has never been involved in controversy or scandal as his patriotism overrides any other thing. On countless occasions, he has spent his hard-earned resources to represent Nigeria in major competitions when he plied his trade in Italy, Belgium while making France has his second home.

    For Toriola, all his achievements in table tennis should be able to inspire the upcoming players to aim high in life. “I must confess that I want young players to see my achievements in sports as an inspiration for them to aim for the top in their sports. I still want to be around table tennis so that I can help the younger players but Rio will surely be my last Olympic Games.”

  • “I was afraid of making it to sixth Olympic Games”

    “I was afraid of making it to sixth Olympic Games”

    On records Olufunke Oshonaike is the most successful female table tennis player at the African Games having won more medals than any other player in the continent. Back-to-back she has won the singles title and for four consecutive editions of the Africa’s Olympics, Oshonaike has claimed the doubles title.

    The 40-year-old mother of two is yet to come to terms that she will taking part in her sixth Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil having debuted at the biggest sporting gathering at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics in United States. Despite her inability to win medals at the Olympic Games, Oshonaike says that any athlete that makes it to the Olympics should be appreciated as it remains the biggest stage for the best of the best in the world.

    Oshonaike is edging toward history in Africa as the first female table tennis player to be competing at her sixth Olympic Games and it is a journey the former African champion says she never envisaged when she made her Olympics debut in 1996.

    “When I attended my first Olympic Games in 1996, I never thought I will be able to make it six appearances because then I just wanted to take part in three Olympics. But here I am today looking forward to my sixth Olympics. For me, this is an awesome experience I would cherish in my life. The Olympic Games is a special event and not many people make it there and for me to be going there for the sixth consecutive times is a feat I never dreamed of but by God’s grace I am here today looking forward to another outing at the biggest sporting stage,” she said.

    “My first appearance at the Olympic Games was an experience I would admire forever because I met the best in the world and I rubbed shoulders with them and this for me is an experience every athlete would desire. It is only the best that attends Olympic Games and every athlete that competes at the Olympic Games qualified based on their performance. Most of the participants were not given easy tickets to be at the games.”

    Despite her participation in several international tournaments across the globe, Oshonaike still believes that the Olympic Games remains the ‘icing on the cake’ for athletes.

    “It is the dream of every athlete to make it to the Olympics because it is the best among the best that attend Olympic Games and I have been privilege to be among these best. This for me is a feat I will cherish more than any medals I might have won at the African Games or championships.

    “You cannot compare the experience with any other events because you meet with other top athletes across the globe while the atmosphere is most times unique and this is what endeared the heart of many globally. Olympic is not all about medal even some athletes who must have won medals in several international competitions do not make it to the Olympics as only few make it there,” the athlete said.

    With few weeks to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Oshonaike admits that with the new format, the dominance of China may be halted in Brazil. “For us representing our country very well in Rio is our priority and we must strive to be good ambassadors in terms of our conduct on and off the arena. We want to go to Rio and exhibit the virtues synonymous with Nigeria. We are not going to be promising any medal but anything can happen but we will surely give our best. For me, this might be my last Olympic Games and I want to cherish every moment I am going to spend in Brazil and I hope I can achieve something.”

      On the dearth of quality female players, Oshonaike is pained by this development but blamed it on indiscipline and interest on the part of the athletes. “When we started playing, discipline was made very important and we were also passionate about the sport. Money was not our priority as we also have training schedule that we follow.

    “But unfortunately, things are quite different these days as athletes are not as disciplined, and the passion for the sport has not been there. I am so sad that our players are not showing enough interest in the sport but I hope and believe with the efforts being made by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), we can have more players coming through.”