Enitan Oshodi’s passion for table tennis knows no bounds, it therefore came as no surprise when he emerged as the Deputy President, African Table Tennis Federation, the first Nigerian to achieve the feat. The former President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation revealed to Kunle Adewale how he hopes to reposition African Table Tennis, improve the rankings of African players
and many more
Players such as Aruna Quadri and Jide Omotayo may not have gotten to the height they are today in table tennis but for the effort of Enitan Oshodi. As the President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, he took the sport to a new level, little wonder the continent is counting on the newly appointed Deputy President of African Table Tennis Federation, ATTF for the repositioning of ping pong in Africa.
Asked how he hopes to reposition African Table Tennis, he said: “I think the most satisfactory thing about the election results was the number of people of like minds who have now been elected into the board of the ATTF. I think we are all agreed on the need for change in many areas of our sport and the urgency in making this change so we would not be left behind. We need to make our sport more exciting and we need to find new ways using old and new media to showcase our top talents across all age groups.
“We have so many gifted athletes and we must develop pathways that will help them achieve their goals in the sport. We also must note that our different member associations are at different levels in their development. We have to be creative in seeking ways to fast-track development of some Associations to enable them catch up with others. We have a great team on board and I am quietly confident that within the next couple of years the impact of the Board will be felt around the continent.”
The gap between African ping pongers and that of their European and Chinese counterparts is getting wider by the day, making the continent’s players to be at par with their European and Chinese counterparts is on the priority list of Oshodi.
“African players need a lot more help to get them to that level. We must help them by giving them the best coaching and guidance at a much earlier age. We are lucky that we now have loads of young talents across the continent who are following the good example and success of Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar but we need to harness this talent much earlier. This needs more training programmes for the development of our coaches and young players from a much earlier age. This will assist in identifying the really talented players and guide them into world class players. “Currently we have five African players in the world’s top 100 but we need to aim to get around 15 more players there and possibly three or four in the world’s top 20. We need to find the funding to assist our players attend the ITTF training camps as well as professional tour events where they play regularly against the best in the world. This is how our top players like Quadri, Jide Omotayo and Omar Assar have improved to the level of the best players in the world. Funding is critical to the development of our players,” the former Lagos State Sports Commissioner highlighted.
On how his immediate constituency-Nigeria can benefit from his new position, the engineer cum lawyer reacted thus: “What is most important is that being on the board gives one a broad view of the help that is available to all member associations in helping to develop the sport in individual countries. There are many ways that this will ultimately benefit Nigeria. Training programmes, hosting of events, sourcing of scholarships for young players. One can advise the Federation on ways to help them achieve their goals.
“As a former President of NTTF, I know what we need in Nigeria and it goes without saying that one will always keep an eye out for how one can work with the ATTF in getting us the needed help.”
The Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, alumni attributed the overwhelming support he enjoyed during the election to the works he had been doing in Nigerian table tennis and across the Western Region of Africa.
“It was really heartwarming to receive such an endorsement from one’s colleagues and peers. It is a great honour. I had received a lot of encouragement from different countries to run and in turn we had tried to reach out to a lot of the delegates. The outcome was really pleasing and hopefully a testament and endorsement of the work we have been doing in Nigerian table tennis and across the Western Region of Africa,” an excited Oshodi said.
The former NTTF boss would however not want to be dragged into the issue of what he would want to be remembered for as an administrator in years to come.
Due to the thankless nature of the job and family commitment, Oshodi had quit administering the game severally, but his love and passion for the sports lured him back.
“Everybody who has worked at the top of sports administration has definitely felt the need to quit at some time. It can be a thankless and frustrating job quite often. Especially when you realise that most times you are really working as a volunteer in an unpaid capacity. I have quit as an administrator on a couple of occasions but the lure of the sport draws you back. Despite my busy practice as a lawyer, I still really enjoy being involved in sports. After my family and friends sport is my happy place,” he noted.
“I am really too concerned about that. People will judge you and make their views known then. But for me the important thing is that I always tried to do the best for the athletes I worked with and for sports generally.
