Nigeria’s Omotayo, Edem qualify for Olympic Games

Two Nigerian players, Olajide Omotayo and Offiong Edem, have joined the list of African players that have qualified for the table tennis event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Both players on Friday secured their spots at the Olympic Games after reaching the finals of the African Qualification Tournament taking place at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Edem was the first to secure her spot after a pulsating 4-3 win over Tunisia’s Fadwa Garci in the semifinal of the continental qualification championships.

The Nigerian play, who will be attending her fifth Olympic Games after featuring at Athens 2004, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020, had to raise her game to beat the Tunisian in an energy-sapping encounter at 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-1, 11-8, and 11-6.

Understandably delighted, Edem was quick to express her delight with a post on her Facebook page where she wrote: “THANK GOD WE MADE IT…SEE YOU IN PARIS 5 TIMES OLYMPIAN BLESSED…”

Encouraged by the success of his compatriot, Omotayo stepped up to the stage also booked his Olympics ticket in style.

In the men’s singles, Omotayo had an easy passage to Paris after a dominant 4-0 (11-6, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7) win over Saheed Idowu of Congo Brazavillle.

The 2019 African Games champion and tournament’s top seed will be making his second appearance at the Olympic Games after his maiden outing at Tokyo 2020.

Omotayo like Edem also celebrated his qualification for the Olympic Games with a post on his Facebook page where he wrote ” I believed” accompanied with a video of his winning stroke.

Beyond Nigerians

Qualification for the Olympic Games was not all just about Nigerian players as a player from Madagascar made history while another from Cameroon also grabbed Olympic tickets.

---

Fabio Rakotoarimanana made history in Kigali as he became the first player from Madagascar to qualify for the Olympic Games by beating Tunisia’s Wassim Essid 4-3 (13-11, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9) in the second semifinal of the men’s singles at the qualifiers.

Cameroon’s Sarah Hannfou also joined the league of players heading to Paris after another action-packed tie against Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello.

The two-time Olympian lost the first game 1-11 but restored parity in the second game with an 11-9 win. She continued her dominance with 11-5 and 11-9 wins to take a 3-1 lead.

READ ALSO: Table Tennis: Aruna Quadri reclaims African title in Rwanda

But Bello stretched the match with a 10-12 win to put the encounter at 3-2. Hanffou did not want the Nigerian to make a comeback, and with the cheers from the spectators at the BK Arena, the Cameroonian sealed her place in Paris with an 11-7 win to complete a 4-2 triumph (1-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7) in the women’s singles.

The remaining two slots for the continent will be contested by 12 players who made it to the quarterfinals of the first stage of qualification on Saturday, 18 May.

Over 50 players from 15 countries competed at the three-day qualification tournament hosted by the Rwanda Table Tennis Federation (RTTF).

A satisfied President of the RTTF, John Birungi, said he was happy that they were able to host the Olympic qualification for the first time, while acknowledging the support of the Rwandan government.