Nigerian Table tennis legend Olufunke Oshonaike was all smile, as she recorded an emphatic 4-1 win over Ecuador’s Mylena Plaza in her first group encounter in Budapest.
Meanwhile, Olajide Omotayo was on the receiving end at the 2019 ITTF World Championship after losing in a narrow battle against Cyprus’ Marios Yiangou just as Segun Toriola’s recovery against United States’ Victor Liu was thwarted.
Unlike Omotayo, Toriola was dominated by the Chinese-born American as the veteran was losing 6-11, 8-11, 7-11 but the experience of the former African champion came to fore as he rallied back to win the fourth game at 11-7. But not ready to surrender the lead to the Nigerian, the American fought well to win the fifth game at 12-10 to complete his 4-1 win over Toriola.
But Oshonaike left the table smiling after beating her Ecuadorian counterpart 11-5, 5-11, 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 to complete her 4-1 win while debutant Ajoke Ojomu also recorded her first win with a 4-1 win over her Luxembourger counterpart.
