Offiong Edem on Sunday became the third Nigerian to crash out of the table tennis event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, following a 4-0 defeat to Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi in the women’s singles Round of 64.
Edem’s exit came on the heels of Quadri Aruna and Olajide Omotayo’s losses on Saturday, both of whom were sent packing from the competition.
While Aruna and Omotayo managed to clinch at least one set in their encounters, Takahashi proved too formidable for Edem, securing a straight-sets victory: 11-8, 11-4, 13-11, 12-10.
Omotayo had kick-started Nigeria’s table tennis exit streak with a 4-1 loss to Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan, despite claiming the first set.
Aruna’s ouster was even more dramatic as he squandered a 3-0 lead to suffer a 4-3 defeat at the hands of 19-year-old Romanian Eduard Ionescu.
Nigeria’s last hope in the table tennis event, Fatimo Bello, is set to face Jia Nan Yuan on Monday in the women’s singles Round of 64 at her maiden Olympics appearance.
Edem’s elimination marked the third setback for Nigeria in Sunday’s competitions, following the Super Falcons’ 1-0 loss to world champions Spain and Adam Olaore’s defeat in the boxing heavyweight round of 16 to Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay.
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