30th August, 2016
A national table tennis player, Olajide Omotayo, on Tuesday attributed the silver medal he won at the Westchester Open tournament in the U.S. to hard work.
He defeated Kai Zhang of China 3-1 in the final of the competition which ended last Sunday.
“This is one of the biggest tournaments hosted here in the U.S., I lost in the final to a Chinese player.
“The monthly tournament is hosted in Westchester, New York, the best table tennis centre in the U.S.,” he said.
The 2013 winner of the annual Asoju Oba table tennis competition said that he felt great clinching the silverware.
“I am happy and overwhelmed because I won amid so many Chinese players.
“Coming to the U.S. has in one way or other improved my skills and tactics. One thing I will never do in this life is to stop believing in myself.
“Self-confidence got me a silver medal at Westchester Table Tennis tournament,” he said on telephone from his U.S. base.
He added that he had only been in U.S. for two months and had won five medals.
“In the Robert Chens weekly tournament, I have won it four times in a row. I keep getting better each day because I play more matches here in the U.S.
“I came to the U.S. to train and play open tournaments.
“Currently, I don’t have a club here but I train twice daily from Monday to Friday at the Westchester Table Tennis Club.
“I will be moving to Europe in September to ply my trade with Marcozzi Table Tennis Club in Italy,” he said.