The Chairman, Lagos State Table Tennis Association, Tunji Lawal, says Nigerian table tennis players can reach their full potential with the right mentality, the right fitness level and adequate exposure.
Lawal said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines of the graduation ceremony of the ‘Break the Bias, She Can’ initiative in Lagos held at the Rowe Park Sports Centre, Yaba, Lagos.
The programme was organised by Additional Plus Sports and Education Initiative in partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission.
Lawal said Nigerian players were not doing better than many of their opponents in other countries because they do not have the right mentality, the right fitness level as well as adequate exposure.
He said the poor performance of the country’s players at the recently-concluded World Table Tennis Contender in Lagos was proof that they needed to do a lot to match their counterparts in China, Korea and elsewhere.
“The rate at which international players are exposed, going from one tournament to another, their training regimes, and the facilities at their disposal are the reasons they are better than our players.
“These players are always careful about what they eat; they don’t indulge in junk and they also monitor their diets. However, Nigerian players don’t have the same. They eat whatever comes their way.
“To me, an average Nigerian player is kind of overweight for the game, and so, finds it difficult to keep up with the standard of the game.
“Nigerian players lack fitness in terms of movement, footwork, agility and other technicalities. We seriously need to restrategise,” he said.
Lawal added: ”Being a professional is a holistic thing; It is not about knowing how to play alone, it is about what you eat and your mentality.
“Athletes must be flexible. They must have pace and be able to move easily. So the way to go now is to encourage the younger ones to take over from the older ones.
