Paralympics: Nigeria qualify for quarter-final in table tennis
The duo of Isau Ogunkunle and Kayode Alabi have qualified for the Men Class 4 and 6 single events at the ongoing Paralympic Games in Paris.
Ogunkunle defeated third seed Abdullah Ozturk of Turkey to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Alabi beat Bobi Simion of Croatia.
Despite losing the first game 6-11, Ogunkunle staged a remarkable comeback to win the next three games 11-6, 11-7, and 12-10.
Alabi, who had earlier struggled in the Mixed and Doubles events, found his form with a 3-1 victory over world No. 3 (16-18, 11-7, 5-11, 9-11).
Ogunkunle will play France’s Maxime Thomas in the quarter-final ties, while Alabi will confront Thailand’s Rungroj Thainiyom.
Bolawa Akingbemisilu, however, lost to Brazil’s Lucas Arabian in the class 5 Men category, 3-2 (11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11,11-8).
National coach Nasiru Sule expressed his delight at Ogunkunle and Alabi’s victory, calling it a morale booster for the team.
“I am so happy today that our players lived up to expectations. It has not been easy in the last few days, but today we showed that we can turn things around.
“Comeback against a two-time Paralympic gold medalist stunned everyone at the venue. His opponent won gold in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and today Ogunkunle has shown he has the quality of a champion.
“I am also happy for Alabi, who defeated the world No. 3 from Croatia.
This shows we are still in the hunt for medals in Paris,” the Atlanta 1996 bronze medalist said.
Christiana Alabi will Tuesday take on Chile’s Tamara Leonelli in the Women’s Class 5, while Abiola Adesope will clash against France’s Lucas.
(NAN)
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