Nigeria’s top table tennis players, Quadri Aruna and Olajide Omotayo, have been eliminated from the men’s singles event at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games after losing their opening matches.
Aruna who is competing in his fourth Olympic Games, faced a tough match against Romania’s Eduard Ionescu in the round of 64. Despite a strong start, winning the first three sets 11-8, 11-9, and 11-6, Aruna ultimately lost 4-3. Ionescu made a remarkable comeback, taking the next four sets 11-8, 12-10, 11-9, and 13-11 to secure victory.
This marks the second meeting between Aruna and Ionescu, with their first encounter at the 2024 European Champions League in March ending in a win for the Romanian teenager.
In a similar fate, Omotayo was defeated in the round of 64 by Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan, losing 4-1.
Omotayo won the first set 11-6 but then lost the next four sets 11-5, 11-4, 12-10, and 11-8. This marks Omotayo’s second consecutive early exit, having also been eliminated at the same stage in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
With these losses, Nigeria’s hopes for a podium finish in the men’s table tennis event at the Paris Olympic Games have been dashed.
Team Nigeria still has hope in the women’s singles, with Offiong Edem and Fatimo Bello scheduled to compete on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
