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Tag: Ojo Onaolapo

I am on redemption mission in Dusseldorf – Onaolapo

After his last appearance for Nigeria at the 2016 World Team Championship in Malaysia, Ojo Onaolapo has not featured for his country but his recent resurgence in the Portuguese league may have prompted Nigeria to recall him to the Nigerian team.

An elated Ojo Onaolapo was quick to admit that he would utilize the opportunity handed to him again to be part of the strong Nigerian team to the 2017 ITTF World Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany.

“I am so happy that I have another opportunity to prove myself in this big arena. I will want to reenact my Commonwealth Games feat again by giving my 100 percent commitment to the team. I want to win back my fans by doing better than what I did at the 2014 Commonwealth Games,” he said.

Having listed in the Nigerian team to the 2012, 2014 and 2016 World Team Championships, Ojo Onaolapo will be making his debut at the individual World Championship in Germany and he is aware of the quality of players expected at the tournament by saying, “This is a big tournament and the best players in the world are expected in Germany. I want to play better and justify my inclusion in the Nigerian team,” he added.

“Nigerian team is among the best in the world considering the quality of the players in the team. Players are selected based on merit and recent performance. You are not selected based on your previous performance but based on your current outing and this makes it more difficult for any player to make the team,” Ojo Onaolapo explained.

“My target is to qualify from the group before thinking of the next thing. But I must say that Aruna Quadri has shown us the way to beat the best in the game. He has made us realized that anything is possible as long as you remain focus and work hard. His humility and dedication to the sport are among the lessons I have picked from Aruna Quadri. So for me, I fear nobody and I look forward to a good outing as anything is possible in table tennis,” the 2015 U-21 Lagos Open Champion.

April 3, 2017
Quadri, others know fate today in latest ITTF ranking

There may be possible tilting in the top 30 when the February ranking of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is released today by the world table tennis ruling body with Aruna Quadri and other Nigerians hoping for an improvement in their world rating.

For his performance at the last Hungarian Open where made it to the quarter-final stage, there are strong indications that Aruna Quadri will rise above 25^th in the world, while Italy-based Olajide Omotayo who managed to record a victory in his matches at the Hungarian Open may also benefit in the latest ranking.

25^th in the world being the highest to have been achieved by an African, Quadri may be hoping to etch another landmark with the possibility of shifting the goal post for other African players to aim at when the ranking is made public today in Switzerland.

Unlike Aruna Quadri and Olajide Omotayo, the trio of Bode Abiodun, Ojo Onaolapo and Kazeem Makanjuola may be on the receiving ends following their below-par performance at the Hungarian Open as they all suffered defeats in all their matches.

Quadri’s doubles partner for this year’s ITTF World Tour – Egypt’s Omar Assar may not really benefit from the ranking after not being able to advance beyond the main draw of the Hungarian Open despite being seeded number 15 in the men’s singles of the competition.

February 1, 2017
Nigeria table tennis team now competitive – Onaolapo

Unlike in the past where players were handpicked to feature for Nigeria in major competitions, but to make the national table tennis now is as hard as a camel passing through the needle, says Portugal-based Ojo Onaolapo.

Onaolapo who failed to make it beyond the preliminary round at the just concluded Hungarian Open in Budapest told NationSport that after being exempted from the nation team after his last outing at the 2016 World Championship in Malaysia, he hopes to work his way back into the team with hard work and discipline.

“From the quality of players we have in Nigeria coupled with the competitiveness of the team, it is now very hard to make the team because you need to prove yourself that you are worthy to be in the team. You must also be disciplined to be part of the team which has quality and disciplined players like Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri,” he said.

On his early exit at Hungarian Open, he said: “But I know if I continue going to competition from time to time, I will reclaim my place back in the national team. I just have to keep going to tournaments because I now realised that tournament arena is different from the club so I need to keep going to ITTF World Tour,” he said.

He added: “In most of the matches, I was leading only to lose. While the racket my opponents were using were not the ones I was used to. Apart from the defeat, I think I learnt a lot from taking part in the competition and it makes me believe that nothing is impossible and I got to know the latest in table tennis around the world.”

Onaolapo could not hide his fascination for his compatriot – Aruna Quadri saying, “Seeing Aruna Quadri playing and winning against some of the top players will make people believe that Africa can do it. His performance gives me confidence that nothing is impossible in table tennis. That it is just hard work and ensure that I attend tournaments regularly. Also, I noticed that Aruna Quadri play strong short while he moves a lot on the table. He fights for every point on the table and this is a quality I must follow.”

He hopes to feature in tournaments in Luxembourg and Slovenia before the 2017 World Championships in Germany. “I intend to play more competitions in Luxembourg and Slovenia before the World Championship. What I believe is that if I keep focusing and attending tournaments while also performing very well, I think I can be a regular in the Nigeria national team,” he said.

January 23, 2017
ITTF Championships: Nigeria shocks Egypt in men’s doubles

At the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior championship in Cairo, host country, Egypt has made efforts to dominate all the seven titles at stake but their ambitions were thwarted.

Four of their top players partnered themselves and the top seeds in the event with only the duo of Athe men’s doubles by youthful Nigerian side.

Before the semifinal tie in the men’s doubles, there was no inkling that Nigeria could make it to the final as none of the players were seeded for the event with the Egyptians dominating being the defending champion.

And to also ensure that they dominated the event, Egypt assembled all their players to be part of the event with more than half of the 32 pairs of players that took part.

From the round of 32 that the event started, the top seeded Egyptian players were given a bye to the next round – round of 16 but Nigeria’s pair of Ojo Onaolapo and Jide Ogidiolu who were not seeded began their campaigns from the round of 32.

Thus, Onaolapo and Ogidiolu, to make it to the final, had to edge out seeded pairs like Congo Brazzaville’s Saka Suraju and Saheed Idowu in the round of 16.

The icing on the cake for the team was in the semifinal tie against Egypt’s Omar and Khalid Assar after the Nigerian duo bundled out the number five seeded team from Egypt.

The Nigerians ousted the Assar brother 7-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 11-2. “I think we communicated a great deal during the match and we did not allow them to attack”.

“I just told my partner not to be under pressure and ensure he put the ball on the table because I realized that they cannot cope with my top spin play; we were much focused,” Onaolapo said.

In the second semifinal match of the Men’s Doubles event, El-Sayed Lashin and Ahmed Ali Saleh, the top seeds, suffered defeat at the hands of Nigeria’s Makanjuola and Quadri, the no. 4 seeds 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9.
With this, Nigeria is sure of gold and silver medals in the men’s doubles to halt the continued dominance of the Egyptians on the medal table.

On the other hand, Nigeria’s Olaide Atinuke and Funke Oshonaike, the no. 6 seeds, suffered a heart breaking seven games defeat against Congo Brazzaville’s Han Xing and Onyinyechi Nwachukwu, the no. 2 seeds (6-11, 11-9, 13-15, 11-7, 11-3, 7-11, 13-11).
The defeat came after Cecilia Otu-Akpan and Offiong Edem, the no. 4 seeds, had been beaten by Egypt’s Nadeen El-Dawlatly and Dina Meshref, the top seeds (11-3, 11-7, 7-11, 4-11, 12-10, 15-13).

“I think we played better after we won the first game; they started to raise their game and we lost concentration, after being two-nil ahead”, said Egypt’s Meshref.

“We figured out that they were rushing us, we slowed down the game and this gave us an edge to win.”
Meshref, who claimed that his team played with a great deal of top spin, further added: “At the 2011 All Africa Games we had lost to them, so we were really motivated.”

January 28, 2015
Nigeria’s Onaolapo escapes first round scare

What would have been a major setback for Nigeria was averted yesterday at the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior Championship after Ojo Onaolapo escaped a first round scare in the men’s singles against Tunisia’s Kerem Yahia Ben.

From the start of the encounter the Tunisian wanted to capitalise on Onaolapo’s slow start to finish up the match and this paid off for him as the North African won 11-8. But the Nigerian recovered to level up at 11-9.

The tricky Tunisian won the third game at 11-8, but Onaolapo restored parity with 11-7 win.

However, the Nigerian later understood the intelligent Tunisian to put the match beyond his reach by winning the fifth and sixth games at 14-12, 11-6 to complete the 4-2 rout and progress to the round of 32.

Admitting the difficulty in the game, Onaolapo said: “I have known him from the junior level and most times when we play, our game used to be very tough. He plays with different kinds of rubber and this makes it difficult for me to control the ball. He is very intelligent and he did everything to frustrate me on table. But I had to be calm and concentrate on the game to be able to cage him. In the first I found it difficult to control the ball because I could not understand the game.”

He added: “But I must be used to this kind of player that uses different kinds of rubber. His rubber is different from others and if I must beat him, I must be ready to get used to his rubber. His trick on the table is another thing I must be ready to cope with and I did that very well to defeat him.”

January 28, 2015
ITTF: Nigeria’s Onaolapo escapes first round in men’s singles

What would have been a major setback to Nigeria was averted on Monday at the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior Championship after Ojo Onaolapo escaped a first round scare in the men’s singles against Tunisia’s Kerem Yahia Ben.

From the start of the encounter the Tunisian wanted to capitalize on Onaolapo’s slow start to finish up the match and this paid off for him as the North African won 11-8. But the Nigerian recovered to level up at 11-9.

Again the tricky Tunisian won the third game at 11-8 but Onaolapo was able to restore parity with 11-7 win.

However, the Nigerian later understood the intelligent Tunisian to put the match beyond his reach by winning the fifth and sixth games at 14-12, 11-6 to complete the 4-2 rout and progress to the round of 32.

Admitting the difficulty in the game, Onaolapo said: “I have known him from the junior level and most times when we play, our game used to be very tough. He plays with different kind of rubbers and this made it difficult for me to control the ball. He is very intelligent and he did everything to frustrate me on table. But I had to be calm and concentrate on the game to be able to cage him. In the first I found it difficult to control the ball because I could not understand the game.

“But I must be use to this kind of players who use different kind of rubbers. His rubber is different from others and if I must win him, I must be ready to get used to his rubber. His trick on table is another thing I must be ready to cope with and I did that very well to defeat him.”

January 27, 2015
Onaolapo apologises, eyes revenge against Egypt

For his inability to complete what Aruna Quadri started against Egypt in the final of the men’s team event at the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior Championship, Nigeria’s Ojo Onaolapo has apologised to Nigerians, while targeting a revenge in the singles.

“I was just unlucky against Egypt’s Omar Assar and El-Sayed Lashin because all my balls were just unfortunate not to be on the table. I played very well overall but things just went the way of the Egyptians. I know that in the singles event, I will try my best and avenge the defeat I suffered in their hands. It is painful not to complete what Quadri had started but there is still opportunity for me to do that and I hope to achieve that by God’s grace,” the Italy-based star said.

Also, Jide Ogidiolu, who fell 3-0 to Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh, told SportingLife that he would regain his form in the singles while hoping to make it to the top.

“I didn’t just know what happened in the match but I am hopeful that I can do well in the singles,” he said.

January 27, 2015
Onaolapo: I am ready to face anybody in Glasgow

After causing a big upset to earn Nigeria a ‘golden’ bronze in the men’s team event of table tennis at the ongoing Glasgow Commonwealth Games, former junior sensation, Ojo Onaolapo, believes the victory over India’s Sharath Achanta has boosted his confidence to tackle any opponent in Scotland.

Onaolapo became the toast of fans at the venue of the third place match after the young Nigerian stunned the Indian star rated 44th in the world 3-1 to earn Nigeria its first medal in the last eight years of the games.

The elated Ondo State-born player said: “I’m excited, I’m happy to win; in table tennis if you are dominant you can beat anybody.”

He added: “We wanted to win a medal but nobody expected to. We played them in the bronze medal match four years ago in New Delhi and lost.”

Also, the inspirational captain of Team Nigeria, Segun Toriola was a happy man that he had a medal to show for his last outing at the Games.

“I’m so happy because it’s my last Commonwealth Games before I retire”, said the now 39-year-old Toriola.

He, however, expressed disappointment over his inability to beat the Indian star in his first match. “I felt so sad and worried after I lost my match; it would have been a great start if I’d won and been more relaxed; in the doubles I just tried to keep relaxed.

“It was the match of the contest, it was the most important match”, added Toriola. “Doubles can be strange, it was 50:50.”

The preliminary round of the singles’ event began yesterday with Nigeria’s trio of Toriola, Aruna Quadri and Bode Abiodun getting byes to the main draw (round of 64).

In the women’s singles, the trio of Edem Offiong, Cecilia Otu-Akpan and Ganiat Ogundele had to compete for places in the main draw.

July 30, 2014
Mixed fortunes for Nigeria

• As female team records first win

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Tuesday acknowledged the outstanding performance of the Nigeria male team at the ongoing 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championship after the Segun Toriola-captained side defeated highly rated Belgium team in the competition.

Also on Tuesday, the female team led by Funke Oshonaike recorded their first win of the tournament against Italy in their third group game of Group G.

On Monday, the Nigeria men’s team had walloped Indonesia 3-0 while on Tuesday; they did the impossible against the Belgian side.

In Group E, Nigeria beat Belgium 3-1 with Aruna Quadri being the man of the moment while Ojo Onaolapo played a vital supporting role in the victory. Quadri started the onslaught for Nigeria when he beat Belgium’s Yannick Vostes 5-11, 2-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-7 and Cédric Nyutinck 11-8, 2-11, 11-4, 2-11, 11-9; while Onaolapo accounted for Florent Lambiet 8-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3. Cédric Nyutinck, recorded the only success for Belgium in the second match of the fixture, when he overcame

Toriola 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-2.

“I am really happy that we were able to beat Belgium, because we knew how good they are”, said Toriola who now combines coaching with playing.

“We expected Jean-Michel Saive to be playing but instead they opted for young Cédric Nyutinck who really surprised us, he beat me, a good tactical choice by Belgium, because they know I’ve played Saive many times and I know his game inside out”, added Segun Toriola.

“Besides playing, I am also active as a coach and I am very happy with the fact that we’ve brought young players to Tokyo like Quadri and Onaolapo. They have a really good potential and after I finish my career, I want to coach them and bring them to a high level”, continued Toriola.

“In Nigeria table tennis is very popular but we don’t get much support from the government, which favours football and that is why it’s very difficult to keep young players motivated.”

For the women’s team the triumph over Italy was a revenge of what the Italian did to the team in 2012.

Since the commencement of the tournament on Monday, the Nigerian ladies have lost to India 3-1 and Bulgaria 3-1. But the needed victory came against the Italians when Edem Offiong defeated Debora Vivarelli 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 4-11 and Oshonaike increased the tally with another 3-0 bashing of Lisa Ridolfi. But Cecilia Otu-Akpan was unlucky against Chiara Colantoni when she lost 3-2.

To make the victory certain for Nigeria, Oshonaike fought well against Vivarelli to win 3-2 to give Nigeria an overall 3-1 win. However, the unbeaten run of the Nigerian male team came to an end on

Tuesday when the team was defeated 3-0 by the division two number one seed team, Czech Republic.

April 30, 2014