by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-Africa Press Officer

Notably at the Liebherr 2017 World Championship in Düsseldorf, he negotiated the group stage successfully. Now Olajide Omotayo believes the experience he gained in the Gold Coast will inspire him to contribute to Nigeria’s quest for promotion to the Championship Division.

“In Gold Coast, we lost in the Men’s Team final against India; I had the opportunity to play all the matches. From this, my level of experience is getting higher day by day. I am satisfied with my performance but still many corrections need to be made.” Olajide Omotayo

Understandably, being his debut appearance at a World Team Championships, Olajide Omotayo is both excited and highly motivated.

“I am looking forward to having a good tournament; my target is to win all my matches. The team has what it takes to qualify for the Championship Division. The team is made up of top players with experience. Also, having the privilege to play all the matches in the team event at the Commonwealth Games was really motivating and I am ready to keep up the performance in Sweden with the help of my teammates.” Olajide Omotayo

In addition to doing well in Sweden, Olajide Omotayo will cherish every moment having being selected among the best four that will represent a national of over 200 million people,

“Having the likes of Quadri Aruna, Segun Toriola and Bode Abiodun in the team means a lot because they are more experienced than me and they all motivate me one way or the other. Representing Nigeria has been my dream since I started playing on the streets of Lagos many years back, it is like a dream come true and I’m ready to give my 100 percent at all time.” Olajide Omotayo

Nigeria competes in the Second Division; they are in the same group as Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Turkey.