Sports
Oshonaike targets 2020 Olympics qualification, to quit Table Tennis afterwards
Nigeria’s Olufunke Oshonaike is looking to quit Table Tennis on a high note by fulfilling her dream of participating at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.
The 43-year-old, who made her Olympics debut at the Atlanta 1996 in United States, has represented Nigeria at six Olympic Games, and is poised to end her professional career ‘on top of the world’ in 2 years’ time.
Her qualification for the competition will be dependent on her performance in the 2019 African Games, and if she makes it to Tokyo, she will be setting a record as the first African female athlete to attend seven Olympic Games
The Germany-based former African champion was beaten in the round of 16 of the women’s singles at the 2018 ITTF African Championships in Mauritius, but insists it is not time to give up on the sport.
Read Also: Super Eagles improve in FIFA World rankings
“I am looking forward to the 2019 African Games with the sole aim of qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. If I qualify I will be on top of the world because that will be the last time I will play table tennis and after the Olympic Games I will throw in the towel,” she told NTTF media.
“I feel very sad because I lost in the singles but I am still good to play for few years. I look younger that what people say because age is nothing but a number. It will be decision to retire but I hope I qualify for the Olympic Games in order to enter the ‘Seventh Club’. After then I can quit.”
The Nigeria women’s team also lost in the Mauritius final to Egypt, but Oshonaike said the team gave their best against the youthful Egyptians, adding that she hopes that younger players come through to the team in near future.
“I think we need new players in this team. The Egyptians are familiar with some of us particularly our style of play. So we need to change something in this team with the introduction of new players and this will surely help us whenever we need them again in any competition,” she said.
RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears
Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...