Nigeria’s tennis star, Offiong Edem, lost 4-0 to Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi in the women’s singles Round of 64 at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday, July 28.
Edem’s loss marks the third Nigerian to exit from a table tennis event after Quadri Aruna and Olajide Omotayo were eliminated in the men’s singles event on Saturday, July 27, crashing out of the international multi-sport showpiece.
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In the men’s table tennis singles event, Aruna and Omotayo each won one set. However, in the women’s singles, Takahashi overpowered Edem, winning in straight sets (11-8, 11-4, 13-11, 12-10).
Nigeria began action in the table tennis event with Omotayo’s match against Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan. Despite winning the first set, Omotayo was defeated 4-1 as Iran rallied past him.
Following Omotayo’s exit, hopes for a medal rested on Aruna, but despite a 3-0 lead, he succumbed to pressure, losing 4-3 to 19-year-old Romanian Eduard Ionescu.
Nigeria’s last representative in the table tennis event, Fatimo Bello, will compete tomorrow (Tuesday) against Jia Nan Yuan in the women’s singles Round of 64 at her debut Olympics.
By Dotun Omisakin
