Olajide Omotayo: I want to play my best table tennis in Tokyo

Olajide Omotayo, Nigerian table tennis star, says he’s going to put out his best performance at the Olympics in Tokyo.

The 26-year-old Lagos-born athlete, who is heading to his first Olympics, said he’s eager to establish himself as one of Africa’s best representatives at the games.

Omotayo picked up his Tokyo qualification at the 2020 African Olympic qualifying tournament in Tunisia.

The development came a few months after he won the 2019 African Games in Morocco after defeating Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri en route to the title.

Speaking on his chances at the Olympics, Omotayo said the postponement of the competition helped him to prepare better for the competition.

He added that his victory at the African games infused him with enough confidence necessary for the high-level performance needed for the Olympics.

“My target is to go to Tokyo and play at my best because I know if I play at my best, good results will follow,” Omotayo said.

“The advantage of the postponement is that it has afforded me more time to train and work hard for the games.

“I feel happy and at the same very proud of myself for qualifying for my first Olympic Games because I have always wanted to achieve this dream as only God made it possible.

“My winning the African Games gold in 2019 has really boosted my confidence going into the Olympic Games.

“The win made me realise that the impossible is nothing as nobody saw the performance coming but I knew within me that I am capable of defeating any player in Africa.

“All I needed was to play freely without thinking about the podium. I did that, it really worked for me in the end.”