The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation is disappointed with the performance of the country’s female table tennis players at the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, an official has said.
The NTTF Technical Director, Anderson Bankole, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that some of the female players in the team were not committed and patriotic enough.
He said the players did not play like those who wanted to win, adding that he was not surprised by the situation Team Nigeria found itself in Glasgow.
“Two of them did not show up at the camp in Nigeria, prior to our departure for the Games,” he said.
NAN reports that Nigeria finished in the eighth position on the Games’ overall table with 11 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze medals. But only a bronze medal, in the team event, came Nigeria’s way, even when table tennis was one of Team Nigeria’s major medal hopes.
The bronze medal won in Glasgow however surpassed Nigeria’s performance at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, where the country’s team won no medal.
“Cecilia Otu-Akpan and Edem Offiong did not attend the federation’s camp, even when we made several efforts to make them join in our preparations for the Games.
“But the federation decided to take them to Scotland because we felt that with their experience, they will make an impact in the team,’’ Bankole said.
He, however, said more attention would now be given to the junior female players following the disappointing performance of the senior players at the Games.
The NTTF technical director said the way out of the situation was to properly groom the junior players.
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