Commonwealth Games: Nigerians laud t/tennis players for winning silver

Some table tennis enthusiasts on Monday hailed Nigeria’s representatives for winning silver medal in the men’s team event at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Australia.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that India defeated Nigeria by 3-0 to clinch gold.

The trio of Olajide Omotayo, Bode Abiodun and Segun Toriola earned silver medal for Nigeria after losing to India’s Sharath Achanta, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Harmeet Desai.

England defeated Singapore in the third place match to win the bronze medal.

Ranti Lajide, an ITTF umpire, congratulated the Nigerian team for registering the country on the medals’ table.

According to him, the players have justified table tennis inclusion in the 10 events Nigeria is participating in.

“This is good news for table tennis, and we are grateful to Nigerians for the support.

“A lot of people expressed doubts at the player’s ability to perform at the games, but they have proven their worth.

“We are thankful to the sports ministry for believing in the players,” Lajide said.

He said that the players would also not disappoint Nigeria in the singles event.

“Our expectation is high in the singles event; Nigerians should expect positive surprises,” he said.

Samson Ajayi, the Coach of Union Bank Table Tennis Club, told NAN that clinching silver was an improvement in Nigeria’s performance over that of the 2014 Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

He commended the team for putting up a good performance, and urged the players to remain focused in the singles event.

“I would have been happier if the players won gold, but they have done their best by winning silver, and we are expecting a creditable performance from them in the singles event,” he said.

NAN reports that Nigeria won bronze in the table tennis men’s team event of 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.