"Spanish Open will Prepare me For Olympic Qualifier" - Omotayo

Spanish Open will Prepare me For Olympic Qualifier - Omotayo

By Sampson Adedeji

After crashing out of the German Open at the preliminary rounds, Nigeria's Table tennis sensation Omotayo Olajide is hoping to use the upcoming ITTF Challenge Spanish Open in Grenada as a preparatory ground for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifier.

Omotayo alongside the rest Nigeria table tennis men's team failed to pick the Olympic ticket in Portugal as they lost to Poland in the first round of the qualifier, BSN Reports.

Omotayo is seeded 8th among the listed 32 players that will take part in the competition.

“I want to compete in more tournaments this year so that I can get used to playing against some of the best in the world,” he said. “There is no doubt that playing in Africa is different from playing in other ITTF tournaments.

”I know it is not going to be easy but I am ready to endure and continue to work harder in order to achieve my dream of doing well this year. This tournament is part of my preparations for the Olympic Qualifiers in Tunis later this month,” he added.

He might likely play Egyptian star Omar Assar in the second round of the tournament.