5th March, 2012
Nigeria’s table tennis player, Aruna Quadri, has assured Nigerians of good outing at the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games slated for London later in the year.
Quadri, who is a number one table tennis player in the Portuguese Premier League, told P.M.Sports that having qualified for the Olympics for the first time, his target is to perform beyond expectations.
The Portuguese-based player affirmed that he is not going to London to make the number but to cause upset and go far in the ping pong game event.
“My primary objective is to participate while success will surely come from God. I will be very happy if God can make me cause the biggest upset in London. I am not going there to just participate but to also prove my worth. I believe it will be a good outing for me and I hope and pray that God will guide and lead me through,” he said.
Quadri, however, feared that his ambition may not be realised, considering the slow pace of preparation of Team Nigeria ahead of the world ‘s biggest sports event.
He said that while many countries have started preparation early, Nigeria is yet to start any meaningful preparation with about six month to the Olympic Games.
“Nigeria can only go far in London, provided we start proper preparation now. I believe proper planning always precedes success, while success goes the same way with planning.
“We always plan for events late. Anyway, I think it is better to be late than not getting there at all,” Quadri said.