by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-Africa Press Officer

Present at the recent 2018 ITTF Team World Cup in London in late February and the following week in the same the venue, the Copper Box arena, once again crowned national champion, the 19 year old is once again relishing the opportunity to compete in the prestigious multi-sport event.

She explained:

“I am incredibly proud and excited to be representing my country in one of the greatest multi-sport events. I would like to perform my best and make the most of every moment. It is never easy to be selected for such a prestigious event; I have been working very hard since the previous Games by training and competing abroad. You must get results to be selected so I am happy I have managed to do that.

I guess I will never feel one hundred per cent ready for an event like this but we have had lots of preparation camps and I have been training hard all year round for the Games, so I guess I am as ready as I can be! We are also having a training camp in Tokyo before the Games which will benefit us a lot as a team and individually.

Our goal is to win a medal in the team event. My personal goal is to win a medal in all the other events too, although it will be difficult, I will like to try my best and to aim high!

I am looking forward to experiencing the village and being part of Team England. I am excited to compete especially in the team event as it is always enjoyable competing alongside my best friends.

I admire Singapore’s Feng Tianwei’s style as she is very fluid and consistent in her play. I am also interested in Canada’s Zhang Mo’s game because she plays a similar style to me, short pimples on the forehand, whilst being very fast and aggressive.”