One of Nigeria’s medal hopefuls in the table
tennis event of the Rio Olympic Games has
crashed out.
Segun Toriola, who advanced to the second
round in the male singles on Saturday, was
beaten 4-2 by his Japanese challenger, Niwa
Koki, on Sunday.
Toriola, 41, beat Koki 9-11 in the first set before
the Japanese rallied back to dominate the
second set 11-5.
Koki also won the third set 11-7 before Toriola
triumphed in the fourth set, leaving scores at
4-11.
At that point, it appeared the Nigerian would
overpower his challenger for the rest of the
match. But Koki was in no mood to concede.
The Japanese overpowered Toriola 11-6, 11-1 in
the fifth and sixth sets respectively to bring total
scores at 4-2.
Toriola was one of Nigeria’s medal prospects and
his ouster is a big setback for Nigeria’s ambition
to return home with medals.
Toriola, who is making a record appearance in
the competition, had on Saturday beaten Dmitrij
Prokopcov of the Czech Republic 4-2 in the
Men’s Singles Round One.
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