The 2024 Paris Olympics have proven challenging for Team Nigeria, with several athletes already eliminated and the country yet to secure a medal.
On Sunday, Offiong Edem became the third Nigerian table tennis player to exit the competition, losing 4-0 to Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi in the women’s singles Round of 64. This followed the earlier defeats of Quadri Aruna and Olajide Omotayo on Saturday.
Despite winning the first set, Omotayo suffered a 4-1 loss to Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan, marking the start of Nigeria’s unfortunate streak in table tennis. Aruna’s defeat was particularly dramatic; he lost a 3-0 lead to fall 4-3 against 19-year-old Romanian Eduard Ionescu.
Hope now rests on Fatimo Bello, who will compete in the women’s singles Round of 64 on Monday.
Table tennis wasn’t the only disappointment. The Super Falcons suffered a 1-0 defeat to world champions Spain, leaving them just a draw away from elimination after two consecutive losses. Their final group stage match is against Japan.
In boxing, Adam Olaore, Nigeria’s last hope following Cynthia Ogunsemilore’s disqualification, was defeated in the heavyweight round of 16 by Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay in a one-sided bout at the North Paris Arena. This defeat extends Nigeria’s medal drought in Olympic boxing since the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Cynthia Ogunsemilore, a prominent lightweight boxer, was disqualified after testing positive for the banned substance furosemide ahead of her opening fight.
As of now, Team Nigeria has yet to win any medals in the Paris Olympics.