In a recent interview with Punchng, Former Nigerian table tennis star, Toyin Okenla-Ojeaga said, Nigerians cannot win the Olympic Gold Medal in table Tennis..read
Table tennis teams were often tutored by male coaches. Was there any case of sexual harassment in your time?
There is none that I know about. I related with my coaches well. We were like one family in the sport so it was uncalled for to suspect or accuse anyone of such act. I don’t know of any case. There could be, but I was not aware of it. I was a tomboy then, I just played my game and left for home.
In spite of your skills and experience, you hardly represented Nigeria at the global stage …
At that time, I just wanted to play and enjoy myself. I tried not to let my state down at national tournaments and I featured well for my club. I represented Nigeria at the Open Tournament which Nigeria hosted in the mid-80s. I was ranked number seven at a young age but before I could reach the peak in the sport, I moved to the US . To say the truth, I am glad I did because I was able to achieve my dream.
Are you saying you don’t regret not having an Olympic medal in your kitty?
No Nigerian can win an Olympic gold medal in table tennis. It’s going to be very difficult because of the Chinese and the other Asian teams. It would be a miracle if we won. I could have fought for an African medal but the All-Africa Games had already gone before I reached my peak. I don’t regret not winning an Olympic or Commonwealth Games medal.
What can we do to win at the Olympics?
We must have the right tools, the best coaches and the right mentality at the games. There must be regular competitions and sponsors must come in. I believe in the grass-roots, not the older generation. We can nurture these young players to become the best.
Do you think we need foreign coaches?
I don’t believe in foreign coaches. I don’t want to sound biased, but I believe Nigerian coaches can become better if they get the right training. We can take our coaches to Europe for courses to improve them. This will be better and cheaper than having Europeans train our players. There are former Nigeria players living in Europe; we can bring them back and employ them to coach our teams.
