Jump to content

Segun Toriola

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Simeon (talk | contribs) at 09:23, 27 August 2022 (added Category:21st-century Nigerian people using HotCat). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Segun Toriola
London 2012
Personal information
Full nameSegun Moses Toriola
Nationality Nigeria
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  Nigeria
All-Africa Games
Gold medal – first place 1995 Harare Singles
Gold medal – first place 1995 Harare Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1995 Harare Team
Gold medal – first place 1999 Johannesburg Singles
Gold medal – first place 1999 Johannesburg Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1999 Johannesburg Mixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1999 Johannesburg Team
Gold medal – first place 2003 Abuja Singles
Gold medal – first place 2003 Abuja Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2003 Abuja Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Algiers Singles
Gold medal – first place 2007 Algiers Doubles
Gold medal – first place 2011 Maputo Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2003 Abuja Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2007 Algiers Team
Silver medal – second place 2011 Maputo Team
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Maputo Doubles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Singles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Team
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 1992 Lagos Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1992 Lagos Mixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1992 Lagos Team
Gold medal – first place 1994 Cairo Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1994 Cairo Team
Gold medal – first place 1998 Port Louis Singles
Gold medal – first place 2002 Bizerte Singles
Gold medal – first place 2002 Bizerte Mixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1992 Lagos Singles
Silver medal – second place 1994 Cairo Singles
Silver medal – second place 2002 Bizerte Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2002 Bizerte Team
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Port Louis Doubles

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

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:

  • 4 African Table Tennis Singles Championships (1998, 2002, 2004, 2006) and 2 Doubles Championships (1994,1992)
  • A Commonwealth Singles Championship (2002) in Manchester (United Kingdom)
  • A Commonwealth Doubles Championship and Singles Bronze Medal (2006) in Melbourne (Australia)
  • 4 All-Africa Games Singles Gold Medals (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007),[2] 4 Doubles Gold Medals (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007),[3] 1 Mixed Doubles Gold Medal (1999, with Bose Kaffo; they also won silver in 2003)[4] and 3 Team Gold Medals (1995, 1999, 2003).

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.

2018 ITTF African-Cup

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.

Legacy

Segun Toriola's name is synonymous with Nigerian and African Table Tennis. Having won numerous African titles and appearing in six Olympic games, Toriola has been influential well into his 40s as he has been consistently placed among Africa's top ten. His teaming with fellow powerhouse Quadri Aruna in Men's Doubles and Team events to represent their home country of Nigeria has become common on the world stage.

See also

References

  1. ^ "ITTF_Database". Ittf.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
  2. ^ [1] Archived 3 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ [2] Archived 3 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ [3] Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Profile at the 2008 Beijing official website
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Segun_Toriola&oldid=1106953937"