The six-time Olympian on February 27 began a three-day table tennis clinic for the junior players in the country. The event had 20 players across the country gathered at the National Stadium, Lagos.
After the clinic ended on Wednesday, the national top 16 championship for the junior and cadet players began. The event will end on Sunday.
The top 16 features the top-ranked 16 boys and top 16 girls in the junior cadre competing for prizes and laurels as part of the plans to select the best hands to represent the country at the 2017 ITTF African Junior Championship holding in Tunisia in April.
Such players as Agnes Onoja from Ondo State, Alimot Ayinla from Lagos, Michael Obayomi from Lagos and Abayomi Animashaun from Ekiti headlined the event.
The clinic, which was handled by Oshonaike, national table tennis coach, Nosiru Bello, among other coaches, taught the players more about their ball handling on the table and racket control.
For more than 20 years, Oshonaike has ruled the Nigerian table tennis scene. Since she began the game as a teenager in the 1980s, Oshonaike has grown to become the most-decorated female table tennis player in Nigeria and Africa having won more medals than any other player on the continent at the All Africa Games – with 11 of them coming at the last three editions of the quadrennial event between 2007 and 2015.
The 41-year-old also became the oldest female African player to win the women’s singles when she claimed the title at the 2016 ITTF African Championships in Morocco.
Oshonaike told our correspondent during the week that having had the opportunity to take over from senior players like Bose Kaffo, she sees it as a point of duty to raise the next generation of players to take over when she leaves the national team.
“Table tennis has been a very important sport in Nigeria after football and probably athletics. But in recent times it seems to be experiencing a reduction in its good fortunes and we cannot allow that to happen, which is why I am contributing a little to the development of the sport through the Funke Oshonaike Foundation,” she said.
“Back then the coaches have a tough time picking players ahead of competitions because we have more than one good player in the country. The tide has not changed now but the players are not having the support required to take them to the level they desired to be in.
“Currently apart from Quadri Aruna and a few other players doing well outside the country, ou=r junior players are not really doing well. And it is not because they are not talented but because the support they need is lacking and that will affect their output for the country when competitions come up.”
Oshonaike added, “This clinic was organised to ensure that the players are taken through the drills of table tennis and their area of weaknesses corrected to make them better players. I am doing this to ensure that there are players to take over when I decide to quit the national team. Our female players are not really doing too well and it has allowed the Egyptians to continue to dominate us in that area.
“Quadri is currently carrying the burden of being the country’s best player but we need another player to be up there too and that begins with more of programmes like this.”
However, the Germany-based star believes former table tennis stars in the country have roles to play to help the growth of the sport on the continent.
Since the Toyin Okenla-Ojeaga U-17 Table Tennis Championships which held sway between 2013 and 2014, became defunct, there has been no competition organised by former Nigeria table tennis players.
Oshonaike said, “This is just my own way of giving back to the country where I grew and gained my popularity from and I think former athletes should see what they can do to help various sports to grow in the country.
“We cannot just be complaining and refuse to help out. It is high time former players supported sports in every little way they can. In Nigeria, I must say that the harsh economic situation has not helped the government to do much to the sport but we (former players) can see what we can do to help sports.
“I am happy that I am doing this and I am also motivated to do more. I hope that very soon we will see more former players coming forward to do the same thing for the sport.”
The mother of two promised to continue the clinic for as long as she could.
She said, “This programme was supposed to have been held earlier than now but the sponsors I sought out said it was too early in the year and I wouldn’t let that affect the plan I have. This is a programme I will continue to hold as long as my resources can allow and the players keep improving because they literally look up to us.
“I am working on something with Segun Toriola and that will also come up very soon. We have discovered that when these players are not left idle for too long, the gap between Nigeria and Egypt will be bridged soon and we can compete with the best in the world. My joy will be the day a Nigerian player can beat a Chinese player or others and win a major title in the world.”
Some of the players praised Oshonaike’s efforts.
Ayinla told our correspondent that the lessons she received were quite different from what she has been doing.
“I believe that my game will change for the better after the top 16 because it didn’t take much time for Funke to discover my weaknesses and she ensured that I corrected them,” she said.
“We need more of trainings and clinics like this because it is quite different from what we do with our coaches every day.”
For cadet player, Animashaun, the clinic has helped him to gain more confidence ahead of matches.
He said, “Really I get afraid when I want to play matches but I have learnt to control my fear. It is not easy but with more practice and programmes like this; I will get over that fear and improve on my game.
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