By Akeem Lawal
TEAM Nigeria captain Quadri Aruna is hoping to bounce back after suffering a shocking early exit from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan.
Sportsbiz247.blogspot.com reports that Aruna was knocked out from table tennis men’s singles round 3 event after losing 4-2 (15-13, 9-11, 6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11) to Gustavo Tsuboi of Brazil in a keenly fought contest.
The highest-ranked African table tennis player however admitted that the Brazilian played tactically better.
“All I could say is that it went very bad. It was not positive result,” begins Aruna, who reached the quarter-finals of the event at the Rio Games in 2016.
“This is sport, this can happen any moment but I’m okay. We would fight for next year and pray for better days ahead. I really gave my 100 percent but he was a little bit more tactical than me. 
“I was really not stable and he didn’t let me get better and better into the game. I think he change his tactics all the time. So I was unable to cope with this. I think he played much more better than I do. Finally he is even more aggressive than me.”
The 32-year-old said he would reflect his mistakes and hopefully return better ahead of future competitions, urged Nigerians to keep praying for the remaining athletes in Tokyo.
“Just to think about what went wrong and we will work on it and come back much more stronger. There are more tournaments after the Olympic Games, this is not the end. So we keep working harder.
“They should keep praying for the rest of others who will be playing in the next couple of days, it is not over until it is over. We are not individuals, we are team, so we have to fight like a team together. It is not over until it is over,” he said after the game.
His exit has brought a sad end to Team Nigeria’s campaign in the sport at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
His three teammates in the singles event (Funke Oshonaike, Offiong Edem, Olajide Omotayo) have all been eliminated earlier.
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