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Tag: Toriola

  • India will now respect Nigeria-Toriola

    India will now respect Nigeria-Toriola

    Having tasted several defeats in the hand of India at various tournaments, Segun Toriola enjoyed another win  at the ongoing ITTF World Team Championship and he believes this would make the Indians to be afraid of Nigeria.

    Toriola told SportingLife after the surprise 3-0 bashing of India in the third round match  in Malaysia that he knew the encounter would be difficult but they are confident  they were going to overcome the Asians.

    “Before the match, we knew it was going to be a difficult match and we were well prepared for them. They were still pained by the loss they suffered at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and I had also told my teammates not to panic but be ready for the challenge. With this important win over them, I believe they will not be scared of us in any competition. They never believed they could be beaten 3-0. If it had been 3-1 or 3-2, I am sure they would not have felt it. But to lose 3-0 will surely put fear in them now,” he said.

    Toriola, who ensured that India’s talisman, Sharath Achanta kissed the canvass with a 3-1 win in the second match attributed the victory to the first win recorded by Aruna Quadri against Ghosh Soumyajit.

    “I remembered vividly that it was GHOSH Soumyajit that sent Quadri out of the World Championship in 2015 and I have watched him play in the French League. I knew what he is capable of and I told Quadri not to give any chance. I was so happy that Quadri was able to finish him up with a 3-0 win. This win really meant a lot to us and it  inspired me to aim for victory against Achanta. I am so happy with this win because we both knew the importance of the match. For us we will not be carried away with the victory but continue to take every game serious,” he added.

  • I played under pressure to qualify-Toriola

    I played under pressure to qualify-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 mentioned Toriola’s name with a lot of applauds accompanying it.

    However, Toriola who qualified for his seventh Olympics appearance was quick to tell SportingLife 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 cautious 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 cautions. 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 SportingLife that Toriola deserves applaud as he has become a shining example for the continent.

    “When I was growing up in Paris, France, I have been 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.

  • ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament: Toriola chases seventh olympic appearance

    ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament: Toriola chases seventh olympic appearance

    To set  new Nigeria and Africa records, 42- year-old Nigeria’s Segun Toriola will today in Khartoum at the ITTF Africa Olympics Qualification Tournament begin the 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 has won more than 20 individual gold medals at the African Games. He 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. Toriola has featured in all Olympics since making his debut at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in Spain.

    Apart from  winning more medals at the African Games, Toriola, who is also the most decorated player in all continental competitions 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 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 SportingLife 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 have secured their places in Brazil while they jostle for continental slots in the men and women team event  which will hold at the World Team Championship in Malaysia this month.

    Twenty-eightathletes 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’s event.

  • ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup: Quadri, Toriola trudge on as tournament enters crucial stage

    ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup: Quadri, Toriola trudge on as tournament enters crucial stage

    Nigeria’s duo ofAruna 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 yesterday.

    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’s number one seed, Egypt’s Omar Assar told SportingLife 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  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 the Rio 2016 Olympics. So it is important to measure my practice and preparation in the last few months.”

  • Toriola is a role model for African players -Egypt’s Assar

    Toriola is a role model for African players -Egypt’s Assar

     

    The only defeat suffered by Egypt’s Omar Assar at the last African Games was against veteran Segun Toriola but the young Egyptian told Sportinglife that most of them look up to the former African champion for inspiration.

    Aside the 3-1 defeat Assar suffered against Toriola in the final men’s team event, the 2015 Lagos Open champion is pained that they could not retain their title in the men’s team event which they lost to Nigeria.

    “For some of us in Africa, Toriola has been an inspiration because he gets better with each tournament and he never seems ready to quit the stage for young players. I never believe he could play the way he played against me because I was surprised he could dominate the match.

    “But for me he has remained committed to the game and he never hid his passion for the sport. I hope we can still have him around for some time so that we can also draw from his wealth of experience,” he said.

    Assar, who is at present warming up for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cup holding in Sweden, believes winning the singles title in Brazzaville would motivate him well for the global tournament.

    “I am really happy that I won because there has been a lot of pressure on us to win medals. I had to wait till the last day to win gold medals because the pressure was really much on me. Aruna played well but I was really determined to win and I think I deserve the victory. But I am still disappointed that we lost the men’s team title having led 2-1 only to lose to Segun Toriola, who played very well.

    “It was indeed painful losing the men’s title but in all I am happy that I have been able to defend my title in this competition. Also, I am eager to play at the World Cup particularly that the tournament is holding where I reside in Sweden,” Assar added.

  • Toriola not giving up on seventh Olympics appearance

    Toriola not giving up on seventh Olympics appearance

    Despite his inability to get an automatic ticket at the last African Games in Congo Brazzaville, Segun Toriola believes his dream of playing his seventh Olympics in Rio, Brazil is achievable.

    Toriola just needed to make it to the semifinal of the singles event of African Games to automatically qualify for the Olympics but he was edged out in the quarterfinal by Chinese-born Congo Brazzaville’s Wang Jianan.

    However, Toriola, who celebrated his 41st birthday in Brazzaville is at present the most decorated athlete in the history of the African Games having won 16 gold medals since making his debut at the games in 1991.

    As it is, Toriola will be Nigeria’s sole flagbearer when the continental Olympics qualifiers hold in Sudan next year after Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri secured his place in the four-man team that qualified at the African Games in Brazzaville.

    “I think I still have a chance to make it to the Olympics because it was unfortunate that I could not make it in Brazzaville. I tried my best but in table tennis, things are unpredicatable. I am hoping that when the final qualifiers hold in Khartoum, Sudan in January 2016, I can make it to Brazil. It is the dream of every player to play at the Olympics and I am eager to play my last Olympics in Rio,” Toriola told SportingLife.

    According to the qualification rules set by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), minimum of two players are expected to qualify from each country while 12 players made of six male and six female will qualify from Africa for the Olympics.

    ATTF President, Khaled El-Salhy told SportingLife that Nigeria and Congo Brazzaville can only present two players made up of one male and one female for the Sudan qualifiers as two of its players have already booked their places at the Olympics.

    For Egypt, he said, the North African has already completed its quotas for the Olympics as four of its players – Omar and Khalid Assar for male and Dina Meshref and Nadeen El-Dawlatly have booked their spots at the Olympics and with this, Egypt cannot present any of its players for the Sudan qualifiers.

  • Toriola is an African sports legend – ATTF

    Toriola is an African sports legend – ATTF

    Impressed with the quality display coupled with conduct on and off the table, the President of African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy has described Nigeria’s Segun Toriola as a sports legend in the continent.

    As at today, no athlete in Africa has won more medals than Toriola at the African Games as the Nigerian has won over 15 gold medals since making his debut at the games at Cairo 1991 in Egypt.

    Speaking during the birthday celebration of the former African champion held during the just concluded 2015 African Games, El-Salhy said the performance of Toriola in Brazzaville has shown that he remains a role model for upcoming players across the continent.

    “Toriola is a model of a real top player who is dedicated in promoting himself as well as a good ambassador of table tennis in Nigeria, Africa and the whole world. He is a real legend of table tennis in Africa by winning the largest number of gold medals in all his seven appearances at the games. The upcoming players should concentrate on the sport and ensure that they work hard wherever they find themselves,” the ATTF helmsman said.

    Toriola, whose dream of making it to his seventh Olympics was halted in the quarterfinal stage of the men’s singles event by Congo Brazzaville’s Wang Jianan, remains the most successful player to have won 15 gold medals at the African Games.

    Also,President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi said: “I must also praise the hard work of our legendary team captain Segun Toriola who just seems to get better with age. His calmness, creativity and brilliance on the table coupled with his humility off the table singles him out as a great ambassador of our sport.”

    Meanwhile, eight players have been confirmed to have secured their places at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil.

    The players – Egypt’s Assar brothers, Omar and Khalid; Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri and Congo Brazzaville’s Wang Jianan  for the men while the women has Egypt’s duo of Dina Meshref and Nadeen El-Dawlatly as well as Nigeria’s Olufunke Oshonaike and Congo Brazzaville’s Han Xing.

  • NTTF names Toriola, Oshonaike, seven others for 2015 African Games

    NTTF names Toriola, Oshonaike, seven others for 2015 African Games

    Segun Toriola and Olufunke Oshonaike will be making their seventh appearance at the 2015 African Games after the former champions were named alongside other seven others by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) for the multi-sports championship in Congo Brazzaville.

    As the most respected table tennis stars, Toriola and Oshonaike will lead Nigeria’s nine-man team to the Games. Toriola and Oshonaike made their debut at Cairo 1991 in Egypt.

    The nine-man team was selected based on their ranking coupled with series of trails organised in Lagos in the last three weeks.

    Toriola is the most successful player in the history of African Games having won the men’s singles title four consecutive times in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007.

    Like Toriola, Oshonaike is also the most successful female player in the history of the games having claimed the women’s singles title twice in 1999 and 2003 while she was runner’s up in 1991 and 2011 will be making her seventh appearance at the multi-sports championships.

    Toriola, a six-time Olympian will be joined in the men’s team by 2014 ITTF Star Player, Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun, Seun Ajetunmobi and Ojo Onaolapo.

    Besides Quadri and Ajetunmobi who had featured at the previous African Games, Abiodun and Onaolapo will be making their debut at the games

    Oshonaike will spearhead the female team which include African Games women’s singles defending champion, Edem Offiong, Cecilia Otu-Akpan and Rasheedat Ogundele.

    Also, Offiong and Otu-Akpan will be making their fourth appearance at the games having debuted at Abuja 2003 in Nigeria. The duo is also the women’s doubles defending champions having retained the title they won in Algiers 2007 at the 2011 edition in Mozambique.

    Ogundele, who is only debutant in the female team, returned to the national team having had a stint with the team to various continental and international tournaments.

  • All Africa Games: Toriola boasts of gold medal

    All Africa Games: Toriola boasts of gold medal

    Nigeria’s international table tennis star, Segun Toriola, on Friday boasted that he would win at least a gold medal at the 11th All Africa Games.

    The Games is scheduled to hold from Sept. 4 to Sept. 19 in Congo Brazzaville.

    Toriola told NAN in Lagos that although he was due for retirement, he was keen on representing his country at the Games because of his love for Nigeria.

    “My love for the country will spur me ahead at the Games in spite of my plan to retire soon. I’m interested in making my country proud and I have a deep love for my country,” Toriola said.

    He, however, observed that early camping of athletes ahead of the Games was paramount for Nigeria success.

    Toriola said that the National Sports Commission (NSC) should also ensure that athletes for the Games were adequately exposed with foreign tours. He said that although early camping and foreign tours would cost the commission lots of money, it would pay off with Nigeria winning more laurels at the Games.

    According to him, it will have no meaning for Nigeria to be at the Games with inadequate preparation and winning no laurels.

    Toriola said that while most countries had commenced camping ahead of the Games, Nigeria was still foot dragging, saying it may spell doom for the country’s overall performance at the Gams.

    “I wonder why Nigeria has not started camping for the Games because many of our rival countries are ahead of us in preparation,’’ he said.

    Toriola also urged the Games-bound athletes to ensure self-discipline and prepare personally ahead of the Games.

    “Athletes for the Games should be disciplined and train ahead personally. I deny myself of pleasurable activities so as to be well trained and make landmark in any competition. Although I’m not condemning pleasure, everything must be in a state of normalcy to enhance maximum concentration,’’ he said.

    The Olympian also urged parents and guardians to assist their children and wards in preparing for the Games, saying they would reap the joy of the success together.

    “Parents should encourage children in sports like Europeans engage their kids at elementary stage, which enables them to build interest on it when they grow up,” he said.

  • Lagos ITTF World Tour: French club stops Toriola

    French Club, Argentan Bayard has refused to release Nigeria’s Segun Toriola for the forthcoming International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour, Lagos Open, which serves off on March 10 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.

    The inability of the French elite club to allow Toriola travel to Nigeria for the championship was due to the crucial league encounter Roanne lntt on March.

    According to Toriola, the exit of one of the team’s top players may have put the pressure on him being the most experienced player in the team.

    “We had a Chinese player, who was playing for our team toward the end of last year but he was sacked because of poor performance, so that onus now rests on me to lift the team. On March 10 when the Lagos ITTF World Tour will kick off, we are to face Roanne lntt and we tried to appeal to our opponents to postpone the match but they refused our request. This has made it impossible for me to leave the team because I cannot play a match on March 10 and travel again to Lagos on March 11, it will be too stressful for me,” Toriola said.

    Toriola, who was recently appointed as the Chairman, Athletes’ Committee of the Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) said: “My club did not agree to release me because they believe so much in me and what I can deliver at the league. The tournament came at a time when I can’t leave my base.”

    Toriola, one of Africa’s, most decorated players, appealed to his fans to bear with him and understand his inability to attend the tour. “I know my fans will be expecting me in Lagos and would be disappointed knowing that I am not coming.

    “I appeal to them to please bear with me and understand that I would have loved to take part in the competition,’’ he said.

    The Olympian said he was confident his compatriots would perform well against the visitors.

    “I have told them to believe in themselves as this is the only way they can make it. I wish them the best at the tournament and promise to keep praying for them,’’ he said.

    Some of the countries taking part in the Lagos Open are Egypt, Portugal, Russia, Republic of Benin, Cameroun, Congo DRC, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Togo, and the host, Nigeria.