Nigeria’s table tennis debutant at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Olajide Omotayo is taking stock of his early ouster from the competition, but says he has already turned his attention towards the next Commonwealth Games, megasportsarena.com reports.
The dreadlocks-wearing ping-pong star, whose surge into the international spotlight came when he qualified in grand style for Tokyo 2020, believes he will do better at the competition among the world’s English-speaking countries.
He, however, added that he and other competitors have to keep praying hard that COVID-219 will not affect the former Empire Games the way it delayed Tokyo 2020 by a whole year, before it went ahead without spectators in the stand.
Omojide, who is also a 2019 African Games champion, added that he was proud of making his Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, despite losing 11-7 11-9 11-6 11-5 to Tiago Apolonia of Portugal, as he will now return to his base to work on his errors and bounce back at the Commonwealth Game and aim to do better at the next Olympics in Paris, France.
The 2018 Commonwealth silver medalist further recalled that he almost gave up in the race to the Tokyo Olympics four years ago but got encouraged by individuals who believed in him, hence his determination to commence early preparations for the forthcoming season.
As he sets about embarking on his build-up scheme in earnest, Omotayo further disclosed that he will feature at the African Championship and World Championship, as he quickly wants to put behind him the disappointment of losing so early in Tokyo.
Omotayo told www.aclsports.com: “I felt sad but I am really proud of myself making it to the Olympics. I prepared so hard for the Olympic Games, the outcome was not encouraging but what can I do.
“I have accepted my defeat and I am going back to make corrections, fix my errors and come back stronger. I will triple my efforts and focus on Paris 2024 Olympics. My journey has not ended because there are a lot of international tournaments including the Olympics”.
“Four years ago, I never believed I could qualify for the Olympics; now that I know I have the potentials of making it to the biggest sporting event in the world. After the pandemic, I thought the Tokyo Olympics would never happen.
“But I am happy the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japan were able to make it work even though we stayed more than one year. Life is about to be fun and tough for me, I just have to buckle up, sit tight and enjoy the ride.
“Later this year, I have various tournaments to play but I need to take a break and visit my family in Nigeria before preparing for my next season in France, the African Championship in Cameroon and World Championship in Texas.
“For the Commonwealth Games, I hope the COVID-19 pandemic will allow the United Kingdom host it. I have a year to practice and prepare myself; everything is okay on the side and I will improve.
“We should know that results do not always come so fast, we have to the patience and I am optimistic that the result will come. I am a born winner, I believe 100% in myself and the results will definitely come.”
