The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rio 2016 Olympic Games

  • German star, Brandt wary of U-23 Eagles

    German star, Brandt wary of U-23 Eagles

    After having an easy progress to the last four of the men’s football event of Rio 2016 Olympic Games, German midfielder, Julian Brandt is familiar with the quality of their semi-final opponent- Nigeria and the Bayer Leverkusen admitted that the U-23 Eagles are very strong and fast.

    Brandt, who was part of the team that edged out Nigeria’s Flying Eagles from the last U-20 World Cup, has been instrumental to the fine form of the European team at the Olympic Games with their 4-0 bashing of Portugal still fresh in their memory.

    “They (Nigeria) are positively crazy because they take a big risk,” he told DFB-TV. “I consider Nigeria as offensively strong and very fast,” Brandt said.

    However, U-23 Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi believes the African side is ready for the German machine.

    “Maybe they will be a bit similar to the Swedish or Danish teams we faced. We have to make sure we’re ready. We have to make sure we play well and hopefully we do exactly what [coach Samson Siasia] asks us to do. He’s been absolutely amazing with his tactics and with the way he wants us to play,” Mikel said.

    The two giants will battle out for a place in the final at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo.

     

  • ‘I’m the proudest person at 2016 Olympics’

    ‘I’m the proudest person at 2016 Olympics’

    An excited President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi is indeed pleased with the performance of the team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

    He however, said that with more support table tennis has the wherewithal to win medal for Nigeria at the multi-sports competition.

    “I am quite pleased with the players. They have shown commitment and have strived to give their best. Everybody won a match and got into the main draw of the tournament and at this level that is not an easy task. They have all come together and supported each other even when support seemed to be lacking,” he said.

    The ITTF Nomination member added: “With Aruna Quadri’s excellent performance in reaching the quarterfinal and Segun Toriola getting to the 2nd round, I must confess that I am quite elated and proud of this team. They have done the country proud. This is by far the best performance by a table tennis team outside Asia and Europe ever and must be celebrated. If you also look at the quality of players that we defeated then one must take his hat off to the players. It is a phenomenal performance taking all the circumstances of our preparation into consideration.”

    He however, called for more support for the sport: “There is need for more exposure for our other players and coaches while more funding, increased and better quality coaching. We need to have at least eight male and female players consistently playing on the senior and junior professional tours. This will serve as an inspiration for the young ones coming behind especially when they see that they can build a financially rewarding career as people like Toriola and Oshonaike have done. We need to even work harder especially in the female category so we can sustain our achievements.

    I am fully committed to helping our players get to the top and really hope we can get the right support from Government and the organized private sector such as the Banks, Telecoms and Oil companies and our big Industrialists: this category of organizations need to focus a lot more on helping our home grown sports stars develop instead of chasing after the big earning premiership football stars.”

  • My Rio feat belongs to Africa- Aruna Quadri

    My Rio feat belongs to Africa- Aruna Quadri

    When Aruna Quadri was named the 2014 ITTF Star Player, many were skeptical about the skills of the Oyo State-born athlete. As a self-made athlete, Quadri didn’t give up. He continued to sponsor himself to major competitions across the globe and his performance caught the eye of the President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi, who began to support the ambitious player. His performance also attracted top clubs in Europe and he settled for a French club, Jura Morez, where he single-handedly saved the team from relegation last season.

    His belief in Nigeria, despite lack of support, made him turn down a juicy offer from oil-rich Qatar. This showed his patriotic zeal and he promptly earned applause for his decision. His perseverance paid off at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, beating players rated above him. He became an instant hit, while those who didn’t reckon with him have now finally embraced him.

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    Many are also speaking glowingly about Quadri’s exploits in Brazil as the first African to make it to the quarter-final round of the table tennis event at the Olympic Games. He also said he was not surprised by his performance, but he was stunned he made it to the last eight of the men’s singles, dedicating the feat to the African continent.

    An excited Quadri said after the Rio feat that, “I feel so happy playing at the quarter-final of the Olympic Games. It is like a dream come true and I am very happy and satisfied with my performance in Rio and I must say that the achievement belongs to all African federations and players and it is not just a personal feat.”

    Narrating his mission in Rio, he said: “Initially, I came here just to enjoy myself because I knew the qualities of players that qualified for the games. Apart from the Chinese, all other participants had 50–50 chances against one another and for that reason I was a bit relaxed and started playing without pressure. Also I had it in my mind that I am not in Rio just to add to the number of participants but to make an  impact. I must also say that my qualification to the quarter-final stage is as a result of my hard work and the success just came at the right time of my birthday. I strongly believe I have the potential but I was not expecting to have qualified for quarter-final and I was optimistic but it was not going to be easy.”

    “I had difficulties in playing against defenders and winning against the Slovak Chinese-born Yang Wang, who is a defender increased my confidence and that motivated me to do better in subsequent matches. The coaches, teammates, friends and family as well as the president of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) contributed immensely to my good outing in Rio and I will like to thank everyone that contributed to this great journey of my career,” he added.

    Recalling his feeling during the matches, he said: “After the victory against the world number seven, Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan, my mind was totally free that Germany’s Timo Boll will also fall if I confronted him in the fourth round. I had to play the German the same way I played against Chuang Chih-Yuan and this boosted my confidence throughout the competition. So I felt great after the matches because playing against these world class players was like a dream come true. I was actually looking up to some of these players particularly whenever I am watching their videos.”

    He, however, lamented the idea of training in Nigeria before the games but said: “Training in Nigeria did not help my situation in Rio but my 10-month experience in Portugal and France with different coaches helped me a lot. Also, Segun Toriola helped me as well by telling me the weaknesses of every opponent because he is familiar with most of them. In training, Toriola’s advice really helped me to change my tactics positively and he was always there for me

    Toriola helped me in training and his advice really changed my tactics positively. I can confirm that I have gained a lot from his wealth of experience and seeing him, while playing added to my confidence. I can say that Toriola is a great legend of the sport.

    On his quarter-final loss to world number one, China’s Ma Long, the 2014 ITTF Star Player said: “I was not disappointed with my performance against Ma Long because I had nothing to lose against him and I was not really scared of him. In the first instance, he is a much better player but I did not put that in my mind before the match started. I took on Ma Long the way I confronted my previous opponents. But Ma Long was too strong for me as I could not respond very well but I strongly believed that when next I play against him I will win one set at least.”

    For his heroic feat, Quadri became the toast of the Brazilian fans and this he described as encouraging, “I must say that the Brazilians showed me love and they always motivated and encouraged  me that I could do it. The kind of support I got from them is like the support I am always getting in my home country. They kept me going whenever I was losing hope by echoing my name. They made me feel at home and I remain grateful to them for this.”

    Quadri is eagerly looking forward to the new ranking, which he said: “This is a new positive improvement and I am waiting for the next world ranking. When I rose to top 30 two years ago, I was under serious pressure to maintain my ranking because it had never happened to me. After some time the pressure went away and I am now getting used to playing under pressure. But this time around I am not going to be playing under pressure in order to maintain my new status. I also need more support to play more tournaments so that I can keep my place in the world ranking without dropping down the ladder. I am fully ready to work harder than before and may God continue to crown all my efforts with successes,” Quadri added.

    Quadri who will be representing Africa at the ITTF World Cup in Germany come |October believes attending Rio Olympic Games is part of his build up to the global tournament.

    “Every tournament is like preparing for another tournament and my performance in Rio has really boosted my confidence that I can do better at the World Cup. My World Cup preparation has started at the Rio Olympic Games and I have been able to test my ability against the world’s best. It is just two months to the championship, I will prepare better when I get to my club in Europe. I strongly believe that my best is yet to come and I am praying for luck and getting favourable draw in Germany. I strongly believe that I can still do better than before,” he explained.

    He, however, said that he hopes that his Rio outing would inspire more African players to aim for medal at global level. My performance in Rio will surely boost the confidence level of many African players to do so much better in future. I strongly believe that there will be rapid improvement in Africa soon and more talents will come through in the continent. We have great talents in almost everywhere in Africa and very soon we will all see them.”
    For Quadri, his cherished moment in Rio was claiming victory against former world number one, Germany’s Timo Boll.

     

  • Quadri is Africa’s pride at Rio – ATTF

    Quadri is Africa’s pride at Rio – ATTF

    The continent is still celebrating the feat achieved by Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games, President of African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy believes the 2014 ITTF Star Player is a pride to Africa in Brazil.

    He added that the heroic performance of Aruna Quadri is a confirmation of Africa’s relevance in global table tennis.

    “I must admit that all the African players did their best in the singles, while the extra ordinary outcome was through Aruna Quadri for his superb performance against the top ITTF ranked players like Chinese Taipei’s CHUANG Chih-Yuan and Germany’s Timo BOLL. In my opinion the achievement of Aruna Quadri in Rio will be of great impact to Africa and all players as well as help to break all barriers, raising the ceiling of ambitious player at all World and Olympic title events regardless of their opponents,” the ATTF boss said.

    He added: “Simply, Aruna Quadri is perfect, full of energy and trust his skills with good preparation. He also put his mind in the game to fly the flag of Nigeria and Africa in such Olympic Games.”

    On what young players can emulate from Quadri, he said: “They have to follow the foot step of Aruna Quadri in terms of preparation, dedication in training and with this nothing is impossible.”

  • ‘I’m satisfied with my Rio performance’

    ‘I’m satisfied with my Rio performance’

  • Frot Group rewards Quadri for Olympics feat

    Frot Group rewards Quadri for Olympics feat

    For making Nigeria and Africa proud at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Frot Group has rewarded Aruna Quadri for being the first African to make it to the last eight of the men’s singles of table tennis event.

    The President of Frot Group, Frank Momoh, said the performance of Aruna Quadri has shown that with more support, table tennis has the capacity to bring more laurels to Nigeria.

    “Despite the loss of Quadri to Ma Long, the team needs our commendation, especially as Quadri has set a new African record as the first African to reach an Olympic quarter final in table tennis,” Momoh said.

    He applauded the leadership of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF)-led by Wahid Enitan-Oshodi for their efforts, “The leadership of NTTF has never been in doubt, as the country’s in Rio has further shown that the plans for table tennis is Pan African and you have our full support. With patriotic support from sport loving Nigerians and organizations, Nigeria can establish her authority in world reckoning.”

    “To show our full support for the team, I on behalf of Frot Group hereby give a cash reward of $2,500 to Aruna Quadri for his new AFRICAN RECORD. Well done NTTF President, Wahid Enitan-Oshodi, well done team Nigeria,” he added.

  • Quadri’s forehand and footwork are great- Ma Long

    Quadri’s forehand and footwork are great- Ma Long

    Knowing the importance of ending the fine run of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri means a lot to his ambition at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games, world number one and champion, China’s Ma Long has admitted that what stood the Nigerian out were his superb forehand and footwork.

    Having studied Aruna Quadri with the help of the Chinese technical crew led by Liu Guoliang, the head coach of the Chinese Men’s Team, Ma Long was able to demystify the Nigerian in an entertaining encounter that thrilled the Brazilian fans.

    From the start of the quarterfinal encounter, Ma Long did not allow Quadri to make any attempt at using his forehand and with aggressiveness; Ma Long overcame Quadri 11-4, 11-2, 11-6, 11-7 to secure a place in the semifinal where he is expected to battle Japan’s Jun Mizutani.

    A relief Ma Long who is featuring in his first singles event at the Olympic Games admitted, “As an African player, it’s not easy that he made it to the quarterfinals stage. He was able to defeat CHUANG Chih-Yuan and Timo BOLL on his way to the quarterfinals also shows he’s strong and skillful.”

    On what he thinks were Quadri’s strengths that helped him caused upsets, Ma Long said: “His forehand and footwork are great. I think also because he doesn’t play much internationally, so we are not familiar with his playing style and characteristics. That could have surprised his opponents, and they couldn’t react and adapt in time.”

  • Nigerian surprised everybody in Olympics – Timo Boll

    Nigerian surprised everybody in Olympics – Timo Boll

    After being sent packing by Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri, Germany’s Timo Boll has admitted that the Nigerian has surprised a lot of people at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

    Amidst every doubt, Quadri pummeled Timo Boll with the Nigerian showing his class in front of the Brazilian fans with an emphatic 4-2 (12-10, 12-10, 11-5, 3-11, 5-11, 11-9) to become the first African and Blackman to make it to the last eight of the Olympic Games.

    A disappointed Boll said: “He has surprised a lot of people. I knew he was good coming into the match. I just have to say, well played! His whole game is different, so it took me a while to work it out. Once I was 0-3 down I started to get more into the match, but it was already too late.”

    For the first time in the fourth Olympic Games appearance, Boll, a bronze medalist at the London 2012 is not sure of making it to Tokyo 2020 in Japan.

    Meanwhile, President of Senegal Table Tennis Federation, Balla Lo has lauded Quadri, saying, “Congratulations to Aruna, ATTF and NTTF. The most important thing I have noted is the huge progress of our sport, reducing the gap (difference of levels) between Africa and very developed continents. This is not the case regarding some major sports like football, basketball, judo and many other sports. Where the gap is still very deep, and best wishes to Aruna.”

  • Quadri hits Olympics quarter-final

    Quadri hits Olympics quarter-final

    Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri continued his superb performance at the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the 2014 ITTF Star Player fell another big fish in the table tennis world to confirm his place in the quarter-final of the men’s singles of table tennis.

    Amidst every doubt, Quadri again rose to the occasion against the world number 13, Germany’s Timo Boll when the Nigerian showed his class in front of the Brazilian fans with an emphatic 4-2 (12-10, 12-10, 11-5, 3-11, 5-11, 11-9) to become the first African and Blackman making it to the last eight of the Olympic Games.

    Quadri, who is ranked 40 in the world has again animated the venue as Brazilian fans were thrilled by the superlative performance of the Nigerian.

      However, Quadri will face the biggest talks of his career when he battles world number one and world champion, China’s Ma Long in the quarterfinal match on Tuesday August 9.

  • Quadri causes upset to equal Toriola’s Olympics records in Rio

    Quadri causes upset to equal Toriola’s Olympics records in Rio

    Motivated by the inspiration of legend Segun Toriola, Aruna Quadri yesterday defied all odds to demystify one of the tournament’s favourites, Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan with a 4-0 bashing to berth in the fourth round of the men’s singles of the table tennis event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

    For making it to the fourth round (last 16), Quadri has equaled the feat achieved by Toriola at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China where the former African champion made it to the same stage of the championship.

    The Nigerian who is ranked 40th in the world and 27 at the Rio Olympic Games tamed the world’s number seven and tournament’s number five seed to make a giant stride in his career.

    If what happened at the 2016 German Open is anything to go by, Quadri has no chance against the Asian star as the 2014 ITTF Star Player was bundled out in less than 15minutes.

    Fired up by the loud ovation that greeted Segun Toriola’s exit in the second round of the men’s singles, Quadri was in excellent form with an emphatic routing of his highly-rated opponent.

    The defeat suffered by the Asian star was that disgraceful that he could not win a game in the 4-0 ((11-6, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7) bashing.

    Notably, four year ago at London 2012, Quadri’s victim – Chuang Chih-Yuan had reached the bronze medal match, where he was beaten by Germany’s Dmitrij Ovtcharov.

    Like Quadri, another star of the night was Ukraine’s Kou Lei who attracted the attention by upsetting top seed.

    Kou Lei, the no.28 seed, ended the hopes of Frenchman, Simon Gauzy, the no. 13 seed (11-6, 6-11, 16-14, 11-9, 11-6).

    In the fourth round match, Quadri will be faced with another task as he is expected to battle against Germany’s Timo Boll, ranked 13 in the world and tournament’s number 10 seed.