TheCable

Aruna Quadri, the Nigerian table tennis player, says his goal at the Tokyo Olympics is to win a medal.

The 32-year-old, who secured the qualification by virtue of his position on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Olympic qualification ranking, also disclosed that he hopes to be “lucky” to stop the domination of China at the games.

China has established itself as a powerhouse in the sport, winning all the table tennis events at the last three Olympics to emphasise its hegemony.

But while speaking with DW on Tuesday, Quadri said he has what it takes to pull a surprise on the Chinese participants in Tokyo.

“Table tennis is the number one sport in China. They put a lot of money into the sport, and they have the best coaches who understand the game,” he said.

“But I think it is possible to pull a surprise in Tokyo. My target is to win a medal, and I hope to be lucky.”

Quadri, currently Africa number 1, will join Olajide Omotayo, Edem Offiong, and Funke Oshonaike as Nigeria’s representatives in table tennis at the Olympics.

Tokyo will be Quadri‘s third Olympics, having represented the country in London 2012 and Rio 2016.

In Brazil, he defeated Chuang Chih-yuan, the then 5th seed, in four straight sets before edging Timo Boll, a renowned German player, 4-1.

He was, however, stopped by Ma Long, the eventual winner, in the quarter-final.