With Africa’s highest ranked table tennis player, Aruna Quadri a year from his 30th birthday, it may not be out of order to say he is already nearing his retirement as he is unlikely to be active 10 years from now.
Quadri was at the weekend outclassed by Japan’s Jun Mizutani in the Round of 16 at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Men’s World Cup in Liege, Belgium.
Among the areas Quadri is weak, according to Mizutani, is that he loathes playing left hand player, has problem receiving service and he also does not have much technique on short balls.
Quadri has won a number of medals and he remains one of the greatest to come out of the African continent, but at 29, it is not likely we see him get better.
For Nigeria to remain a formidable force in the African continent there is an urgent need to throw up table tennis talents to replace Quadri who represented the country at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals in the latter competition.
To get a replacement for the Sporting CP player, the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and the Nigeria Sports Commission will need to invest heavily in the youth.
Besides the existing table tennis championships in the country, there is the need to introduce similar tourney for kids from the age eight to 18.
Talents discovered at such early age may be camped periodically to nurture them into world beaters.
The NTTF and other stakeholders may as well dispatch coaches abroad to understudy their Chinese counterparts. Also, the talents being groomed must consistently attend international competitions for exposure.
