July 29, (THEWILL) –Â Nigeria’s Olympic table tennis hopes were dashed at the Paris 2024 Games as top players Aruna Quadri and Olajide Omotayo suffered first-round defeats.
The losses occurred at the South Paris Arena, eliminating both athletes from the men’s singles competition.
Quadri, who had reached the quarterfinals at Rio 2016, was unexpectedly beaten by 20-year-old Romanian Eduard Ionescu in a thrilling seven-game match.
Despite taking an early 3-0 lead, Quadri ultimately lost 3-4 in a closely contested battle. Ionescu, making his Olympic debut, mounted an impressive comeback to win the final four games and advance to the round of 32.
Omotayo’s campaign ended with a 1-4 loss to Iranian player Noshad Alamiyan. Although Omotayo started strongly by winning the first set 11-6, Alamiyan dominated the next three sets. A brief resurgence from Omotayo in the fourth set was not enough to turn the tide, with Alamiyan sealing the victory in the fifth set.
These defeats mark a significant setback for Team Nigeria’s table tennis aspirations at the Paris Olympics. Both Quadri and Omotayo were considered strong contenders in the men’s singles event, with hopes of improving upon Nigeria’s past performances in the sport.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
