Portugal-based Aruna Quadri, has charged Nigerian table tennis players not to be scared of top class foreign table tennis stars that are expected to feature in the first Lagos International Table Tennis Classics.
A confident Quadri, rules out the dominance of the foreigners, saying ranking does not matters in the game as he urged Nigerian ping pongers to give their best and also ensure that they train hard in order to excel in the tournament.
He said: “I have played with the world’s best and one of the things I learnt from playing these players was that it is the person that claim
Quadri, said the presence of Egypt’s Assar and other top table tennis players would not outshine them because the country have the potentials to be among the best in the world, stressing that Nigerian table tennis players need support and encouragement to feature in international competitions and facilities.
“That Egypt’s Assar and other top players are coming, will not take the shine off some of us as we are also battle ready to face them. Some of us have played against them before. They are really not spectacular;
it is just because they had the opportunity which most of us did not have. We have the potentials to be among the best in the world but the needed support and encouragement in terms of competitions and facilities are not just there.
According to him, the ITTF ranked ping pongers seem to be spectacular because they are exposed to regular tournaments and quality facilities, stressing that players like Assar had featured in big tournaments in the world, while some Nigerian ping pongers hardly attend such events.
The former Africa Champion, lauded the organisers of the competition, saying, “this is indeed a sign of good things to come.” “I am particularly impressed with the present board of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF)-led by Wahid Oshodi for their ingenuity in staging this tournament because some of us had not tasted such competition being staged in Nigeria since we came into limelight.
I am personally happy that we will be having some of these players come over to Nigeria to face up. This is good and it will surely help the upcoming players to grow in confidence,” Quadri added.
Players and teams across the globe are expected to compete for honours in 10 events made up of junior and senior categories.
Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium will host the championship from August 26 to 31, while qualifiers for Nigerian-based players will hold on August 22 to 23.
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