Two Nigerian players, Olajide Omotayo and Offiong Edem, have joined the ranks of African athletes qualifying for the table tennis event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Both players secured their Olympic spots on Friday after reaching the finals of the African Qualification Tournament at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
Edem was the first to secure her spot with a thrilling 4-3 win over Tunisia’s Fadwa Garci in the semifinal of the continental qualification championships.
The Nigerian player, who will be attending her fifth Olympic Games after participating in Athens 2004, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020, had to elevate her performance to overcome the Tunisian in an intense encounter, finishing 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-1, 11-8, and 11-6.
In the men’s singles, Omotayo had an easier path to Paris with a dominant 4-0 (11-6, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7) victory over Saheed Idowu of Congo Brazzaville.
The 2019 African Games champion and the tournament’s top seed will be making his second appearance at the Olympic Games, following his debut at Tokyo 2020.
Like Edem, Omotayo celebrated his qualification for the Olympic Games with a post on his Facebook page, where he wrote “I believed,” accompanied by a video of his winning stroke.