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Ex-world champion, Persson hails Toriola’s feat

Former World champion and seven time Olympian, Sweden’s Jorgen Persson has congratulated Segun Toriola for joining the exclusive ‘7 Club’ which he said is commendable.

Persson, who retired following his seventh Olympics appearance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he finished fourth in the men’s behind the Chinese trio described Toriola as a talented player who deserves all the accolades.

“This is simply an amazing achievement. He (Toriola) is a talented player and deserves all the accolades he gets. I am very happy to welcome him into the ‘7 Club’,” Persson said.

With his seventh appearance at Rio 2016, Toriola becomes the fourth table tennis player alongside Persson, Belgium’s Jean Michel Saive and Croatia’s Zoran Primorac.

The former African star also becomes the first player outside Europe to achieve this feat.

February 18, 2016
Rio Olympics: How I qualified – Toriola

A satisfied Segun Toriola received a standing ovation from fans present at the ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament after clinching his place at the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

The song ‘Stand up for the Champion’; reverberated the venue as the announcer echo Toriola’s name with a lot of applauds accompanying it.

However, Toriola who qualified for his seventh Olympics appearance was quick to tell NationSport that it was not what people see that he witnessed during the qualifiers.

“I am telling you that I felt the heat throughout the competition because as favourite I was under intense pressure. I was also careful and trying to play save because most of the players are determined and ready to defeat me. Every match I played was with cautions and I must also admit that I was determined and eager to make it to Rio,” he admitted.

He added: “I am very happy and so excited because I never believe I could be playing in my seventh Olympics of my career. I am happy that I made history as the first African to achieve this feat. It was a bit difficult for me because I played under a lot of pressure. I knew it was going to be easy because I was the favourite before the competition, but I was cautions as most of the players wanted to beat me. I ensured I was not too confident in all my matches and I played with a lot of caution. I am glad that I made it and I hope to now focus on the preparation which is very vital to me as well.”

Cameroun’s Sarah Hanffou told NationSport that Toriola deserves applaud as he has become a shining example for the continent. “When I was growing up in Paris, France, I have hearing about Toriola and I knew a lot of people talked about him because of his talent.

“Being an African I was impressed that an African could be respected in Europe and I think he deserves a lot of commendation for his feat particularly as the most decorated table tennis player in the continent. He is a pride of Africa and I am happy for him and wish him well at the Rio 2016 Olympics,” the erstwhile Arican champion said.

February 18, 2016
This is my toughest tournament, Edem admits

After escaping being sent packing from the ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament, Offiong Edem was quick to admit that this is toughest competition she ever played.

A satisfied Edem told NationSport after beating Algeria’s Islem Laid 4-2 in the quarterfinal that she was nervous throughout the match and that she was fortunate to have escaped.

“I must tell you that since I have been playing tournament this is the toughest competition I had ever played because I was nervous and I could not get my rhythm from the beginning to the end of the match. My mind was on the game because it is an Olympics qualification and all the players are capable of qualifying. This is not based on ranking but on performance,” she said.

The former African champion whose mind is on making her third appearance at the Olympics believes she is even more afraid in the tournament as any mistake might cause ones exit. “I have been so nervous like this even at the African Games or World Championships and you cannot underrate any player because they are also aiming to make it to the Olympics being the biggest stage for every athlete.”

With a target of picking one of the two slots, Edem will battle against another Algerian – Lynda Loghraibi in the semifinal, which is the final match to decide the two players that will qualify for Rio.

February 17, 2016
ITTF Africa Tournament: Edem escapes Algeria’s scare

Nigeria’s Offiong Edem was stretched beyond the limit on Wednesday by Algeria’s Islem Laid in the quarterfinal round of the ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament in Khartoum, Sudan as the tournament ends.

Similarly, after berthing in the last four of the competition, Edem will know her fate for a place in the Rio Olympic Games as the remaining players that will complete the continental quota emerge.

Edem, who has not played against the Algerian before was made to work hard for every point in the quarterfinal encounter with both players given the fans something to cheer.

Apart from having difficulty returning the service of the Algerian earlier in the match, Edem found it hard to control the spin in the pimples racket of her opponent.

After winning the first game at 12-10, the Algerian grew in confidence by throwing caution to the wind to the advantage of Edem.

Edem restored parity with 11-5 win but the Algerian claimed another victory in the third game at 4-11. But this win fired up Edem who began to dictate the game and within some minutes she recorded the needed victories winning three games in a row at 11-5, 11-9, 11-7 to berth in the last four which holds today to determine the finalists that will qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

February 17, 2016
ITTF Africa: Toriola, Edem inch closer to Olympics’ dream

Segun Toriola’s dream of making it to the seventh Olympic Games in Brazil is getting closer after the former African champion dominated Group One in the preliminary stage of the ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament holding in Khartoum, Sudan.

Also, Edem Offiong who finished fourth at the ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup is getter a ray of hope of playing in her third Olympics after coming top in Group One of the women’s preliminaries.

Paris-based Cameroun’s Sarah Hanffou also had an easy ride to the second round while the omly upset in the first stage was caused by unseeded Tunisia’s Safa Saidani who defeated number 10 seed, Algeria’s Isem Laid 3-1 to put her Olympics dream on the right track.

The 24 year-old Tunisian told NationSport after the match that, “My dream is to become African champion because I train very hard in Tunis but I did not have quality players to train with. Most of the female players in Tunisia are juniors and I must be playing with top players to be able to get stronger in the game.

I noticed that Nigerian players have always being my waterloo in major tournaments in Africa. Specifically, Olufunke Oshonaike has been my undoing in tournaments but I know that as I continue to work hard, my dream of ruling the continent will be getting closer,” Safa Saidani said.

She described the victory over Algeria’s Islem Laid as a morale booster of her dream of picking one of the two slots for the Rio 2016 Olympics. “This is the first time I would be playing against Islem and I am happy that I was able to defeat her because she is a good player.

“I most times find it difficult to play against any playing using pimples but today my service and my forehand were my saving grace against her. I will continue to work hard and I know that being my appearance at the Olympics qualifiers, I still have more years ahead of me to feature in future events and hopefully I will fulfil my dream.”

On Wednesday, the tournament continues with the knockout stage while the finalists in the men and women events will automatically qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

February 16, 2016
Aruna Quadri to represent Africa at ITTF World Cup

For the third time, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri will be representing Africa at the ITTF World Cup after the 2014 ITTF Star Player defeated his arch-rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar 4-1 to win the 2016 ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup in Sudan.

Quadri who has been playing second fiddle to the Egyptian in their four last meetings was in fine form in the final of the men’s singles with a 11-8,8-11,7-11,6-11,9-11 victory over the North African. This win will make it the third time Quadri will be participating in the ITTF World Cup. His maiden outing was in 2009 in Russia while in 2014 in Dusseldorf, Germany he stunned the world with his performance which shot him to the top 30 in the world.

The win over Assar will surely rub off on the world ranking of Quadri who is at present rated 37 while Assar is 32.

In the women’s event, Egypt’s Dina Meshref returns to the ITTF World Cup after beating Congo Brazzaville’s Han Xing 4-1 to emerge as champion.

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February 16, 2016
ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup: Why I couldn’t make it to Sudan – Oshonaike

After absenting herself from the 2016 ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup in Sudan, six-time Olympian, Olufunke Oshonaike has blamed it on paucity of fund.

The trio of Aruna Quadri, Segun Toriola and Edem Offiong had to sponsor themselves to the tournament after the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) failed the secure the needed fund for the trip from the National Sports Commission (NSC).

However, the Germany-based star told NationSport from her base in Hamburg that she would have loved to be at the tournament but she could not raise the fund to prosecute the trip. She lamented that it is disheartening that athletes had to be using their hard-earned money to represent their fatherland.

“I don’t think this is too good for the country that in the year of the Olympics and we had a competition that would have helped us prepare well and unfortunately we could not get fund from NSC. At several times, we had to sponsor ourselves to competition and I think this is not too good for us because we also have responsibilities to our family,” she lamented.

For the players competing at the Rio Olympics, Oshonaike tasked NSC to support all athletes to fulfil their dream of making the country proud. “Being the Olympics year, I want to use this medium to task the NSC to please support every athlete going to the Olympics in Brazil because this is the biggest stage for all of us,” she added.

Meanwhile, Nigerian players failed to make it to the final in the women event after Edem Offiong was defeated 4-1 in the semifinal by Egypt’s Dina Meshref.

February 15, 2016
ITTF Africa Olympics: Toriola begins chase for seventh appearance

To set a new Nigeria and Africa records, 42 year-old Nigeria’s Segun Toriola will today in Khartoum at the ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament begins chase for his seventh appearance at the multi-sports championship holding in Brazil.

Toriola, who is at present the most successful table tennis player in the continent have won more than 20 individual gold medals at the African Games while still remains the most successful player at the Olympics after making it to the fourth round in the men’s singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China has featured in all Olympics since making his debut at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in Spain.

Apart from being winning more medals at the African Games, Toriola, who is also the most decorated player in all continental competition will be battling for the two slots in the men’s event alongside another ageing star, Nigeria-born Congo Brazzaville’s warlord, Saka Suraju who is also his targeting his third appearance at the Olympics.

Toriola who narrowly missed out from qualifying at the 2015 African Games is aiming for the slot and he told NationSport recently that he would love to fulfil his dream of returning to the Olympics.

At the last African Games in Congo Brazzaville, Toriola single-handedly aided Nigeria’s dominance against Egypt in the men’s team event after beating the best player in the continent, Egypt’s Omar Assar to pave way for Nigeria to claim gold in the event at the expense of the North Africans.

Also, Nigeria’s Edem Offiong will be hoping to the Olympics as she will also be competing in the women event for one of the two slots at stake in their category. Offiong, who recently returned to Portugal after the African Games has vowed to work her way to Brazil in Sudan. “I will love to go to the Olympics after attending Athens 2004 and London 2012. This is the biggest stage in sports and for me, I think I am capable of achieving my dream in Sudan having trained well in my club in Portugal,” she boasted.

Already, Aruna Quadri and Olufunke Oshonaike has secured their places in Brazil while the jostle for continental slots in the men and women team event will hold at the World Team Championship in Malaysia this month.

28 athletes from Algeria, Ghana, Sudan, Libya, Madagascar, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo DRC, Burundi, Morocco, Tunisia and Kenya will compete for the two slots remaining for men in Africa while 16 will slug it out for the two slots in the women.

February 15, 2016
ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup: Quadri, Toriola move to second round

Nigeria’s duo of Aruna Quadri and Segun Toriola had easy passage to the second round of the ongoing ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup after winning their group matches in Khartoum, Sudan over the weekend.
The tournament which serves as qualifiers to determine the players (men and women) that will represent Africa at the 2016 ITTF World Cups has 32 players competing in the men and women events.
QUADRI maintained 100 per cent with victories over Togo’s Mawussi Agbetoglo, Algeria’s Aissa Belkaddi and Sudan’s Mohamed Nadir to top the group and advanced to the knockout stage.
Also, Toriola was in fine form with wins over Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu, Algeria’s Soudes Alassani and Ghana’s Derek Abrefa to Berth in the knockout stage.
Egypt’s duo of Omar Assar and El-Sayed Lashin also maintained their status with 100 per cent wins.
In the women’s event, the likes of Nigeria’s Edem Offiong, Congo Brazzaville’s Han Xing and Egypt’s pair of Dina Meshref recorded outright victories in their matches to progress to the knockout stage.
Meanwhile, the tournament number one seed, Egypt’s Omar Assar told NationSport that he is not under any pressure to win the tournament ahead of others.
“I feel no pressure at all because I am one of the youngest players at the tournament and I am looking forward to show a good performance.”
“I am very excited for Sudan as first Continental tournament in 2016 and it will be my first visit to Sudan as well. 2015 was full of African Events and all went well for me and were very successful as I wish Sudan will follow the same way and even better performance,” he said.
With his performance at the 2015 ITTF World Cup in Sweden, Omar Assar is eager to return to the big stage this year. “Sure the World Cup is a great tournament to play and I would love to repeat my experience once more after playing well in Halmstad, Sweden in 2015.”
Apart from aiming for the title in Sudan, Omar Assar believes the tournament can help him to assess his preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympics. “Sudan is a big part of my way to Rio 2016 Olympics. So it is important to measure my practice and preparation in the last few months.”
He however, enunciated his target for 2016. “My target in 2016 is to reach even higher in my table tennis level and to play each match and competition with high focus and good performance,” he revealed.

February 14, 2016
ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup: Aruna Quadri hopes for glorious start in Sudan

As long as Aruna Quadri wants to remember 2015 as a year he was named the ITTF Star Player, he will also want to forget it in a hurry as Egypt’s Omar Assar claimed three titles at his expense. From the ITTF World Tour in Lagos to African Senior Cup and African Games, Aruna Quadri played second fiddle to Omar Assar.

But few days to the commencement of the 2016 ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup in Sudan, Aruna Quadri believes he is ready to shake off the defeats of 2015 while he expressed his intention recently when he beats Omar Assar in the French League.

To affirm his willingness to be on top of his game this year, Quadri began the year with an impressive performance at the Hungarian and German Opens and this shot him to 37 in the latest ITTF ranking from the 48 which he began the year.

A contented Quadri said: “None of my targets was accomplished in 2015 but yet I thank God despite series of defeat but it was not too bad as second place in some of the tournaments are better than nothing.”

For 2016, he said: “My target is to do so much better than 2015. I will be very happy if my 2015 second places turn to gold and also helping my French team to remain in top division will be great. . I remain stronger in spirit despite the series of disappointment against Omar Assar of Egypt. To those that have the knowledge of sports, it is one of those things that happen in sports and surely there will be bad and good days but better days are ahead as I strongly believe.
My last win against Omar Assar in the French league is a real confident booster.”

“Winning the best player and star point of the year is one of the best in my career and I pray it is not going to be my best ever. I feel so great to have been crowned the best player in the world and it means that I must make hay while the sun shines. It does not really matter if I win the award again but the one I won already will remain in history of African table tennis forever.
Winning the awards in the midst of the highly- rated Chinese and Portuguese players inspired me a lot and this mean that nothing is impossible to achieve,” he opined.

Since moving to France, Aruna Quadri said his game has really improved as he now rubbed shoulders with the world’s best in the French League. “Playing in France has really improved my game and tactics. I think I am a better player than before according to my latest form and results in the league,” he said.

February 11, 2016