Edem hopes to benefit from `Adopt an Athlete Initiative’

Offiong Edem, Nigeria’s table tennis player who lost in the Tokyo Olympics women’s singles second round, says she is looking forward to getting help to succeed at Paris 2004.

Edem expressed that she would be hoping to benefit from the “adopt an athlete initiative” to aid her preparations for the Paris Olympics.

The 34-year-old, who participated in her fourth Olympics at Tokyo, lost in the second round 1-4 to Lily Zhang of the U.S on Monday.

Speaking from Tokyo, Edem said getting a sponsor through the initiative would help her to attend more competitions and be ready for the next Olympics.

Supreme reports that the initiative was created by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development for individuals, state governments and corporate bodies to adopt and financially support athletes.

This was to help such athletes prepare for international events such as the Olympics.

“I am hoping that I will feature in the 'adopt an athlete initiative’.

“If I can get a sponsor through that means, I will be very happy because I will be able to attend many tournaments ahead of Paris 2024.

“This will enable me gain more experience and exposure, as well as improve my International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings,’’ the table tennis player said.

Edem, who currently plays professionally in Spain, also talked about her loss to Zhang, who is also of Chinese heritage.

“ Chinese players are very good. It is very difficult to win against them except you always play and practise with them.

“The match was difficult for me because she was very fast and she played a different style compared to what I know and used to play.

“ I will go back home and practise the style she used. I learnt that you don’t just serve with back spin, you have to serve with top spin and play immediately,’’ she added.

Edem disclosed that she would begin preparations in earnest for the African Cup Championships and the World Championships billed for September and November respectively.