Olubanwo Fagbemi
On Sport Sport On SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2011
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•Quadri
I‘m fulfilled after Maputo experience –Quadri
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INCE 2009 when 23 year-old Aruna Quadri announced his emergence in African table tennis circuit by winning the Africa Singles Cup in Rabat, Morocco, the player has continued to affirm his status as one of the shining stars in the continent. In his first season in the Portuguese table tennis Premier League, Quadri stunned top European and Asian players to become the number one ranked player in Portugal and he also helped his club to finish second in the league, a feat the club has never achieved. His performance attracted other top teams in the league and he was signed by another top team for this season and the Oyo State-born player proved his worth by becoming the first Nigerian to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games ahead of other top Nigerian players at the just concluded 10th All Africa Games in Mozambique. In this interview with INNOCENT AMOMOH that for Nigeria to wrestle the title from Egypt, there must be conscious efforts to support the game.
HOW did you feel that Egypt dethrone Nigeria in the table tennis event of the All Africa Games in Maputo? I felt so bad when we lost to the Egyptians in the team final because it was a disgrace that we lost 3-0 in the presence of our Sports Minister. We lost because they (Egypt) are more exposed than us. They had featured in various international competitions before the games while Segun Toriola, Monday Merotohun and I featured in just two competitions of which we even sponsored ourselves. I think we really need the help of sports ministry to retrieve the lost glory from the Egyptians. This can be done if we are sponsored to more international competitions most especially the younger players. Before the games you set the target of qualifying for London 2012Olympicsandalsowinning the singles title, can you say you are fulfilled in Maputo? I had two aims to achieve before the games started which were to qualify for London 2012 Olympics and also to win the singles title. To qualify for the Olympics was my main target because I know that winning the singles title is going to be tough and it was not that I did not believe in myself but I knew that it was dicey. I really thank God for making my main goal became a reality and I am also appreciating what God has done for me by claiming bronze medal after becoming the last man standing for my country. I am a fulfilled man in Maputo. Whatdoyouthinkwentwrong for the men's team against Egypt in Maputo? The only thing that went wrong
in the team event final against Egypt was that we were not that exposed than them. We are all training in our different clubs but training without playing tournaments consistently is nothing. They are more current than us in terms of tourneys. The winner of the singles event – Assar Omar has been sponsored to various competitions likewise his compatriots like Ahmed Saleh, El-Sayed Lashin and others immediately after the 2007 Algiers games because they wanted to dethrone Nigeria in Maputo, which they did. I think if we can also be given opportunity to play competitions regularly, we will surely do better. A good example is junior sensation - Ojo Onaolapo, who got the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) scholarship for just a year and we could see from his performance that he improved greatly and this was reflected in his excellent outing at the maiden Youth Olympic Games in Singapore where he got to the quarterfinal stage. What gave Egypt the edge over Nigeria? Two things gave them (Egypt) chances over us. Firstly they are serious about youth development and it was through this they discovered Omar and most of their junior female players who are now made up their senior national team were products of the programme. Also, they ensured they attend international competitions to expose and test their players. Most times they go for training tour in China on regular basis to the extent that before the Maputo games they were in China for
two months preparing for the championship. All these gave them opportunity to be ahead of us. What is your assessment of table tennis in terms of the standard and organisation in Maputo? The standard of table tennis in Maputo was higher than before because most countries that took part in the game really prepared adequately. We had difficulties against North African teams like Algeria and Mauritius but they were not as strong as the Egyptians. Countries like Congo Brazzaville, Ghana, South Africa and a host of others have also improved a lot. But i think the organisation was superb and the facilities are of good standard. Some of the players in the Nigerian team had represented the country at various competitions while they had participated in more than two editions Games, do you think theyarestillrelevantintheteam? Some of them are still useful for the team. Merotohun is not too old to play while Toriola can still be role model for us as well as he will help the team to grow players because we still have a lot to learn from him. Finally former player, who is now based in Italy – Michael Oyebode should be encouraged because he is a fantastic trainer. Youwerethelastmanstanding for Nigeria in the singles event in Maputo and how do you feel being the only Nigerian that made it to the semifinal? I felt great for making it to the semi final stage in Maputo but I was not too happy for being
alone there because the likes of Toriola and Seun Ajetunmobi really did great as they lost narrowly to Omar in the round of 16 and quarterfinal respectively. If I was not alone in semi final, something good might have happened but very difficult to escape in the midst of the three toughest Egyptians. Being your first appearance at the All Africa Games, what can you say you gained from taking part in the games? I gained a lot from Toriola, Merotohun and Kazeem Nosiru. I also discovered how to make a good service as well as to return a serve, which are the most important thing when playing doubles and singles events. In addition, the national coach – Nosiru Bello was indeed helpful because in each match, he most times pointed out my mistakes which I did not repeat in my next game. How do you think Nigeria can win back its title from Egypt in the next All Africa Games? The only way we can retrieve our lost glory from Egypt is by exposing some of our upcoming players to international competitions and before this the likes of Onaolapo, Bode Abiodun, Jide Ogidiolu, Kayode Adedeji and Sola Oyetayo should be prepared to be part of the team and they must also be exposed by ensuring that they attend international competitions on regular basis. They can be sent to countries like China or Austria. In Austria, the Werner Schlarger Academy is the right place for them to go. After this training, we must assess them by allowing them to take part in Pro Tours. Training facilities should be provided for these players to get acquainted to in order to improve their games. Having qualified alongside Toriola for the Olympics, what kind of preparation do you think Nigeria should put in place to be able to do well in London? To perform better in London Olympics, Toriola and I need to be playing competitions on regularly basis and two months before the Olympics, we should go to China for training tour so that we can learn several tactics from the Chinese players. If China is not possible another favourable environment to improve rapidly is the Werner Schlarger Academy in Austria. What lessons do you think the team learnt in Maputo? We learnt that preparation holds the key to good outing in any competition. We should had started the build up to the games, two years before the event We should also know that youth development programme is very important to discover new players rather than banking on the old ones. What is your target for the 2012 London Olympics? My target is to perform beyond the expectation of Nigerians and also to cause the biggest upset during the games. Why do you think Nigerian players find it difficult to win a world championship? We are finding it difficult to win world championship because we lacked the basics of the game. We are not well exposed to international tourneys on regular basis and the neglect of youth development is one of our major problems in the sport.
e-mail: deewalebf@yahoo.com
Nigeria: A sports chronicle (I)
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OR finishing third with 31 gold medals behind South Africa (61) and Egypt (32) on the overall medals table of the 2011 All-Africa Games concluded recently in Maputo, Mozambique, Nigeria underlined a penchant to underperform. And nothing was more suggestive than the post-Games comment by Team Nigeria’s Chef de Mission, Alhassan Yakmut. “Our projection before the Games was to be among the first three finishers. Not to win the Games,” he said. I beg to differ, sir. On account of natural endowment unmatched in Africa, Nigeria deserves sustained leadership in continental competition. Fourth at the previous 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers behind Egypt, host Algeria and South Africa, Nigeria surprisingly failed to take advantage of recent political upheaval in Egypt and other North African teams. Led by officials apparently in denial, some cited the host’s decision to exclude weightlifting, wrestling and powerlifting – sports which Nigeria traditionally dominate – as reason for the failure to register greater impact. But critics know better. Without the kind of homework done by the more organised South Africans who moved up to first place from third in the last Games, there was little chance of Nigeria overhauling the eventual winners even if all sport disciplines were available for competition. Whereas Nigeria managed to sweep the stakes in athletics, it should be noted that the singular honour only gifts the country the unbecoming status of local champion. After all, did the same athletics team not fumble spectacularly at the World Athletics Championships held in Daegu, South Korea weeks earlier? No one, given the country’s usual haphazard approach to international tournaments, and time constraint, should expect encouraging results at next year’s 2012 Olympic Games in London. There, as in Daegu, the standard will be considerably higher. A Nigerian contingent constituted on the basis of sentiment and chaperoned by half-baked officials without the benefit of adequate training tours and refresher courses would always struggle against world beaters. Many would, however, expect the lessons of Maputo to spur Team Nigeria to match the feats of illustrious predecessors in sports other than football from 2012 and beyond. Success in football may highlight Nigeria’s sporting achievements since independence from Great Britain in 1960, but milestones reached elsewhere are as significant in the five-decade campaign for international reckoning.
Boxing The exploits of Hogan ‘Kid’ Bassey and Richard ‘Dick Tiger’ Ihetu announced the country’s championship credentials. Bassey took the world featherweight boxing crown in 1957 while Dick Tiger defeated Gene Fulmer for the world middleweight belt on October 23, 1962 in Los Angeles and added the world light heavyweight title in 1966. Following in the footsteps of their legendary predecessors, the country’s amateur boxers afterwards blazed a devastating trail in African competition as well as the Commonwealths and Olympics. Karimu Young’s victory in the boxing 51 kg class at the first All Africa Games in Cairo, 1962 set the precedence. Nojim Mayegun’s historic bronze in the 71kg class of the Tokyo 1964 Olympics and Isaac Ikhuoria’s replication of the feat in the 81 kg class of the Munich 1972 Games established a standard which Nigerian boxers have worked with since. Super heavyweight Duncan Dokiwari also earned bronze at the Atlanta ’96 Games while featherweight Peter Konyegwachie tapped Nigeria’s first silver at Los Angeles ‘84. David Izonritei (heavyweight) and Richard Igbineghu (super heavyweight) repeated the achievement at Barcelona ‘92. Emulating a rewarding boxing tradition, Nigerian boxers keenly participated in the prime national competition, the Eagle belt. Many of the boxers then stepped up to the Commonwealth Games. The 70s group of distinguished pugilists included Eddie Ndukwu, Obisia Nwakpa, Fatai Ayinla and the Andeh brothers, Anthony and Davidson while Joe Orewa, Roland Omoruyi and Jeremiah Okorodudu were the pick of the 80s. The 90s produced David Dafiagbon, Sabo Mohammed, Kevin Onwuka, Moses James, Jacklord Jacobs, Albert Eromosele and Jegbefumere Albert. These boxers launched professional careers on the back of successful amateur campaigns but none came close to major success until Samuel Okon Peter ended the long wait with the 2008 defeat of Oleg Maskaev for the World Boxing Council heavyweight title. But a series of losses, including three to Ukrainian siblings, Vitali and Wladimir Kiltschko – the last of which occurred on September 11, 2010 –, have all but ended the Nigerian Nightmare’s dreams of finding success again.
Basketball Nigeria’s most famous basketball export, Hakeem Olajuwon, may have represented the United States of America with distinction but he owed his emergence to the domestic support and exposure basketball enjoyed in the early 80s. From the late 70s to the 80s, basketball fixtures between the northern Kano Pillars, Niger Potters and Benue Braves on the one hand and the southern Ebun Comets and Lagos Islanders on the other stimulated great interest. Years of declining followership may just be reversed following the national male basketball team, D’Tigers’ stunning defeat of Mozambique at the 2011 AAG final in Maputo. In women’s competition, First Bank’s national and continental pedigree as well as the national women’s team, D’Tigress’ championship pedigree also ensured lofty status.