ANDREW EKEJIUBA
Nigeria table tennis sensation, Offiong Edem is through to the second round of the women’s singles following her victory in the preliminary on Saturday.
Edem defeated Dora Madarasz 11-8, 11-9,11-9, 9-11,11-4 to sail through to the next round.
The Nigeria’s highest ranked women table tennis player made a strong intent from the first game winning her Hungarian opponent 11-8.
She also won the second and third round before she lost the fourth 9-11 to Dora but sealed her qualification in the fifth set with an 11-4 win.
Edem’s victory is the first win so far in any sport for team Nigeria who are participating at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, Funke Oshonaike has been sent packing from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the preliminary round after she lost to USA’s Juan Liu in the women’s Table Tennis Singles.
Oshonaike, who has represented Nigeria in seven Olympic Games failed to come to the party losing the first three set.
She lost the first set by 11-7, the second 11-3 and the third 11-4.
However, Oshonaike won the fourth set 13-11 before she lost the 5th set 11-4 to crash out of the Olympic Games.
She will be leaving Tokyo 2020 head high as she is the first African woman to qualify for seven Olympic Games and the first woman in Table Tennis to achieve that feat.