'I Almost Quit In Rio'-Oshonaike

Funke Oshonaike

Table Tennis queen, Funke Oshonaike, on Friday revealed that she almost quit the national team during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
Oshonaike said that her remarkable victory at the ITTF Africa Table Tennis Championship was a unique triumph.

The Germany-based ping ponger defeated Dina Meshref 4-2 in the final to reclaim the title she last won 24 years ago.
She said it was the President of the Table Tennis Federation, Enitan Oshodi, who stooped her from quitting the national team at the Olympic Games.
“There were many issues at the games and I don’t want to go into the details since they were all about funding and doing the right thing.
“I was on the verge of signing off from Team Nigeria together with Segun Toriola but our federation’s president who has always been supportive advised against it. He appealed to us to stay for at least one more year so that we can help in the development of some young ones coming behind.
“Imagine if I had not listened to him, I would not have achieved this glorious feat. God is so wonderful. I believe my win in Morocco was a unique one, a divine favour from God.”
Fourty-one-year-old Oshonaike charged young table tennis players to set goals for themselves and work very hard toward attaining the set targets.
“Impossible is nothing. God used me to prove that in Morocco, Aruna (Quadri) also did the impossible in Rio. We need sponsors to help bring out the young ones into limelight,” she added.