4 Team Nigeria members crash out of para-table tennis

Team Nigeria’s losses in the para-table tennis competition of the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo seem not to be abating as the four players who were in action on Friday all lost their games.

The quartet of Ahmed Koleosho, Tajudeen Agunbiade, Alabi Olufemi and Faith Obazuaye ended up on the losing side, thereby failing to progress for podium finish.

Reports state that Koleosho began the chain of losses when he fell 1-3 to China’s Zhao Ping on table 8 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

The 35-year-old, who had qualified from his men’s singles Class 3 Group D after one loss and one win, won the first set of his round of 16 matches 13-11.

He however went on to lose 9-11 10-12 8-11, thus finishing as number 9 ranked in Class 3.

On his part, Olufemi moved to table 4 at the same venue to lose 3-0 (7-11 9-11 5-11) to Filip Radovic of Montenegro in a men’s singles Class 10 Group C match.

It was the 48-year-old’s third loss from three group games and he has thus failed to qualify for the quarter-finals.

On the same table where Olufemi lost, Faith Obazuaye went on a few hours later to also lose 0-3 in women’s singles Class 10 Group C game.

She lost to Yang Qian of Australia 9-11 1-11 3-11, and with the result being her third loss from three games, she also crashed out of the competition.

On his part, Agunbiade lost 0-3 (11-13 11-13 5-11) to Laurens Devos of Belgium in a quarter-final match in the men’s singles Class 9.

Victor Farinloye and Isau Ogunkunle had dropped out of the competition from the group stage earlier, after two losses each.

It now means all six — five male one female — Team Nigeria para-table tennis players are out of running for a singles medal in the competition.

It was reported that the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics which started on Tuesday will end on Sept. 5.