Segun Toriola

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Segun Toriola
Segun Toriola 2012 (cropped).jpg
Toriola in London, 2012
Personal information
Full nameSegun Moses Toriola
NationalityFlag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Born18 September 1974 (50 years old)
Ilorin, Nigeria
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
All-Africa Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Harare Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Harare Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Harare Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1999 Johannesburg Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1999 Johannesburg Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1999 Johannesburg Mixed Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1999 Johannesburg Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2003 Abuja Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2003 Abuja Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2003 Abuja Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Algiers Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Algiers Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 Maputo Mixed Doubles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2003 Abuja Mixed Doubles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2007 Algiers Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Maputo Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2011 Maputo Doubles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Manchester Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2006 Melbourne Doubles
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2002 Manchester Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne Singles
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne Team
African Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1992 Lagos Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1992 Lagos Mixed Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1992 Lagos Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Cairo Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Cairo Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Port Louis Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Bizerte Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Bizerte Mixed Doubles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1992 Lagos Singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1994 Cairo Singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2002 Bizerte Doubles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2002 Bizerte Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1998 Port Louis Doubles

Segun Moses Toriola (born 18 September 1974 in Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria) is a retired Nigeria professional table tennis player. [1]

Contents

Biography

He is the youngest of nine brothers.

Since 1995, he has been ranked as the best Nigerian player. He has been amongst the top table tennis players in Africa since the mid-1990s. Ranked number 1 in Africa from 1998 to June 2008, when Egyptian Eli Saleh Ahmed became the leading African table tennis player. However, since 2009, Toriola has again been the number 1 in Africa. Renowned for his unusual style of forehand play, which makes him an awkward opponent for many. Despite lacking good footwork has an excellent topspin, which has allowed him to pull off many upsets with top world players.

During his career, he has won multiple medals in international singles tournaments. Some of his important achievements are:

He represented Nigeria at seven Summer Olympics debuting at Barcelona. His biggest achievement at the Olympics has been reaching the Men's Singles 1/16 final at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, beating amongst others former world number 1 Jean-Michel Saive as well as David Zhuang. His 1/32 match-up with Jean-Michel Saive was seen by many as one of the highlights of the Men's Singles Tournament. He narrowly lost 4–3 to heavily favoured Oh Sang-Eun in the 1/16 final. [5]

His fifth Olympic appearance in 2008 made him the first Nigerian man to appear at five Olympics. This feat was achieved four years earlier by sprinter Mary Onyali and also in 2008 by fellow table tennis player Bose Kaffo. By the end of the 2008 Summer Olympics, only thirteen table tennis players worldwide had appeared at least five Olympics. With his participation in 2012 Olympics in London he became the only Nigerian athlete to appear at six Olympics. He therefore joined João N'Tyamba of Angola and Maria Mutola of Mozambique as only third ever African athlete to compete in so many Summer Olympics.

Toriola competed in the 2018 IITF African-Cup, placing first in group 4, allowing him to qualify for the Quarter Finals. In the Quarter Finals, Toriola faced and was defeated by Congolese player Saheed Idowu (2-4) resulting in Toriola's elimination. In the placement rounds, Toriola defeated both Thameur Mamia (3-2) and Sami Kheroff (3-1) to finish the tournament at 5th place.

See also

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References

  1. "ITTF_Database". Ittf.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
  2. Archived 3 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Archived 3 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Athlete Biography: TORIOLA Segun". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008.