By Ifeanyi Eduzor
Ageless Nigerian table tennis queen, Olufunke Oshonaike, may be making her last appearance at the tennis World Championship, Budapest 2019 ITTF World Championship, which serves off next week. However, the five-time Olympian says she would not give up on featuring in her sixth Olympic Games next year in Tokyo.
“I think Budapest 2019 would be my last world championship, but my aim is to play at the next Olympic Games in Japan before throwing in the towel. However, I must admit it would not be easy leaving a sport that you have played for more than three decades.
Table tennis has impacted my life positively and everything I have achieved in life most of them have been through the sport,” she said.
“My first outing was in Chiba, Japan in 1991 when I played alongside great African players like Atanda Musa. I was so young and I wouldn’t forget every moment in Japan that year being a teenager then. But my cherished moment was at the 2015 edition in China where I played against the eventual champion- Ning Ding of China, in the first round. That day was my birthday and I enjoyed playing against the best player in the world. That was a rare experience that not too many players would have,” the former African champion said.
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Oshonaike who is regarded as the most successful female table tennis player in Africa said she hopes to advance to the main draw in Hungary as this would decide her outing in the competition.
Oshonaike described the world championship as a unique competition that gives players the ample opportunity to play against some of the world’s best.
“The World Championship is a unique competition because it is an openchampionship. It allows both the lowly and highly ranked players to play against one another unlike the Olympic Games and World Cup where only the best compete. So every moment in the competition is cherished and that is why it is the dream of every player to compete at the world championship,” she concluded.
