Nigerian table tennis player Quadri Aruna is looking to win a medal at the Olympics in a field dominated by Chinese players. He is his continent's biggest hope, a job for which he seems well prepared.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Quadri Aruna finally met his match in Chinese master, Ma Long, in the quarterfinals of the men's singles table tennis tournament.
With his speedy forehand power, the Nigerian virtuoso had conquered three top players to reach the quarterfinals of the men's singles table tennis event, the first time for an African at the Olympic Games.
He defeated Taiwanese fifth seed Chuang Chih-yuan 4-0 and German star Timo Boll 4-2 in one of the biggest upset runs in table tennis history. But Long was too much to handle, and Aruna lost in four straight sets to the eventual gold medal winner.
The experience taught him a valuable lesson: to reach the podium, he needed to work harder.
It has been five years since, and Aruna has plotted his return to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. After his debut season in Germany's Table Tennis Bundesliga in which he won 15 of his 25 matches, he is the highest-ranked African (22) in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
"I was very happy to play in the Bundesliga, one of the best leagues in Europe," Aruna told DW. "I think the experience of the Bundesliga will make a difference for me at the Olympics."
As his talent on the concrete floors emerged, he received an invitation to a table tennis hall managed by the town's famous trainer, Oluwole Abolarin.
"Luckily, he saw me on the street, and he took me to the hall. I think he realized some of kind of talent in me," Aruna said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed down Aruna's drive. He practices two and a half hours daily in Lisbon, Portugal, where he lives with his family.
Unlike the last Olympic Games in Rio, where Nigerian athletes struggled to get funding, he says that the government has been very supportive.
Getting a medal in Tokyo means he must face down the Chinese dominance at the top of the sport. The Chinese have won gold at five of the last six tournaments.
"Table tennis is the number one sport in China. They put a lot of money into the sport, and they have the best coaches who understand the game. But I think it is possible to pull a surprise in Tokyo. My target is to win a medal, and I hope to be lucky," Aruna said.