By
Akeem Lawal
NIGERIA para-table tennis player, Ahmed Koleosho says he
is not under any pressure to win a medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games
billed to hold from September 7-18 in Brazil.
Speaking in the aftermath of the poor performance of Team
Nigeria at the just-concluded Rio Olympics, where the country won only a bronze
medal in football event, Koleosho who will be representing the country in the
Class 3 of the para-table tennis event at the Paralympics is optimistic of a
medal outing on his debut.
“We have been preparing for almost three months. We are
now looking to move to Rio to acclimatize before our competition commence. For
all of us we are hopeful of winning medals for now,” the University of Lagos
Computer Science graduate told Sportsbiz247.blogspot.com.
“The fact that the athletes to Olympics did not win any
medal does not put any pressure on us. We are just doing what we are supposed
to do and keep believing in ourselves, there is no pressure of any kind on us.”
Koleosho, who only started table tennis four years ago
qualified for the Paralympics after winning gold at the 2015 African
Championship in Morocco.
Koleosho is amongst the three para-table tennis players
from Nigeria who will be competing in the Brazilian city. Others include
another debutant, Chinedu Nick (Class 4) and Faith Obiora (Class 5) who is
going for her second appearance after she debuted at Beijing 2008 Games.
Nigeria have won in total, 26 gold, 11 silver and 12
bronze medals in the Paralympics since its debut in the 1992 Barcelona
Paralympics in Spain.
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