Table Tennis
The Nigerian Table Tennis team, which won the country’s first silver medal at the ongoing Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, has blamed fatigue and injury for its loss to India at the final of team event.
India beat Nigeria 3 – 0 to claim gold over Team Nigeria, but Coach Nosiru Bello explained that they lost to fatigue and injury and not to India.
“We were fatigued as we only rested 40 minutes before the commencement of the final against India. Segun Toriola had a muscle injury but still gave his best. The Indians played their semifinal in the morning and rested better than us.
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“We played our semifinal and hardly rested before the final. That lack of rest affected us badly,” Bello said at the Team Nigeria Secretariat.
Tennis star, Aruna Quadri who did not play in the Team Events, explained that he was below the weather and decided to skip the Team event.
“I was not feeling fine. I decided to recuperate and play the singles”, Quadri said.
Team Nigeria opened her account for medals with two silver medals from the Team Event of Table Tennis and Shot Putt.
A power-packed team of Segun Toriola, Bode Abiodun, and Olajide Omotayo took Nigeria to the podium behind Team India, who snatched the Gold.
The Nigerians, highly tipped to pluck the gold, succumbed to the superior firepower of the Indians 3 – 0.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi with a distance throw of 21:14 could not upstage New Zealand’s 21:14 that hit gold, so he settled for silver.
Source: G Sport
