Legendary Nigerian Olympian, Funke Oshonaike has crashed out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, ait.live reports
Oshonaike lost 4-1 in the preliminary stage of the Women’s singles to USA’s Juan Liu.
The first game was keenly contested as Liu ran out 11- 7 winners, but the second game ended 11- 3 and the third finished 11- 4 in favour of the American.
Oshonaike won the fourth game 13-11 before Liu rounded off the tie with 11- 4 in the fifth game to win 4 -1.
After the defeat, Oshonaike revealed that Tokyo 2020 will be her last Olympic event.
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“I’m going to be there, but as a spectator,” she told the Olympics channel after her preliminary round loss to USA’s Juan Liu.
“I never gave up, I’m here today and I’m so happy that I could play because I was not expecting it.
“I just lost, I’m supposed to be kind of sad, but I’m happy that we can be here at the Olympics”.
“This is the spirit of the Games, you lose or win but we are all Olympians,” Oshonaike told the Olympics channel after the match”.
She made history by becoming the first African woman to qualify for seven Olympic Games and also the first woman in Table Tennis to achieve the phenomenal feat after making her debut at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Editor Paul Akhagbemhe
