Nigeria’s journey at the Men and Women’s Singles event of the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation World Championship ended on Tuesday when the country’s three representatives in the event crashed out in the first round of the main draw.
Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri lost in the Men’s Singles while Funke Oshonaike lost in the Women’s Singles on Tuesday.
Against Chinese Sheng-Sheng Huang, Toriola recovered from 3-0 down to level up at 3-3 but lost the final game to bow out from the tournament while seeded Aruna was the biggest shock for Nigeria as he was beaten 4-1 by India’s Soumyajit Ghosh.
Oshonaike, who celebrated her birthday on Tuesday, lost 4-0 to the world’s number one ranked player, Ning Ding, to exit the Women’s Singles of the event.
However, the country is still in the Women’s Doubles as the pairing between Oshonaike and Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou defeated Africa’s Women’s Doubles champions, Egypt’s Dina Meshref and Nadeen El-Dawatly 4-1 in the first round.
Meanwhile, despite her loss to Ding without a coach beside her, Oshonaike described her experience in China as one that will for a long time be memorable.
“Today is my birthday, why should I be sad? And it is a wonderful gift for me to have had the opportunity to play against her (Ding),” she told the ITTF official website.
“I think I just had fun during the match and for me I am not too happy that I was drawn against Ding but it is indeed a rare privilege to play a player of her status.
“I am fulfilled with my performance in China because I made the first round for the first time since I have been taking part in the world championship.”
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