Segun Toriola has insisted he will still be fit enough to play at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
The seven-time Olympian was recently honoured by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), as one of the greatest table tennis players.
Toriola, who turns 42 in September, believes he is still on top of his game and will be at the next Olympic Games.
“I am still one of the best in my sport despite my age and my consistency in table tennis which sees me playing in two top regular clubs in Europe would remain an added advantage for me as I continue to play in world class competitions.
“Being 42 years old is one thing being fit enough to continue playing top table tennis is another. I am very disciplined and I religiously follow the things that will continue to aid my fitness in the game. Come Tokyo 2020, I will still be good to represent Nigeria in top grade international competitions until after the Tokyo Olympics. At the moment I have my eyes on the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the 2019 All Africa Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After these will I start thinking of my final retirement.”
He added: “My recognition by the IOC at the Rio Olympics was a very good one and recognition of my achievements. This serves as a motivation for the youthful table tennis players and a boost for them to work hard and do well in their career. They now know that when they distinguish themselves, they would be recognized by the international sports federations.
“The achievement of Aruna Quadri at the Rio Olympics is laudable for him to make it to the quarter final of the Men’s singles event as the African to do so in the history of the continent’s participation if the Olympics. This is also a bigger encouragement for me to start planning my retirement.
“The fear of not having any top rated Nigerian player doing well at the international circuit for a long time was one of the reasons I prolonged my playing career in table tennis. I was scared not having any quality players to hand over to when I retire. But with the emergence of Aruna Quadri, I can now retire peacefully with the rest of mind that, there is somebody worth the salt who can continue from where I stop, but this won’t happen until after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“I am still very active and even the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation have asked me to continue. I am still doing well in the French League. Some countries approached me in Rio to take up the full-time job as national team coach, but I turned all the requests down as I am not ready to quit. But I have given my words to some of the countries where I have already scheduled to help them out in a two-week intensive training programme. This will be regular, to teach players of the countries involved the rudiments of playing good and standard table tennis.”
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Abeg no represent us. Your first round exit is not the reason why we took U to Rio.
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