The athletes are table tennis stars, 7-time Olympian,
Olufunke Oshonaike and Aruna Quadri. The sum of $10,000 was given to each of
them as support funds.
The support was provided under the #AdoptAnAthlete
programme, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports
Development to canvass support from the private sector for athletes
representing the country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The financial support will cater to the athletes’
preparations for the Olympics including medical expenses, hiring of a personal
trainer, dieting and other related needs.
Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX
Group, commended Mr. Sunday Dare, Minister of Youth and Sports Development for
the initiative, describing it as an avenue to further encourage athletes to
give their best at the global event.
He said: “We wish to applaud the efforts of the Honourable
Minister for bringing relevant stakeholders on board to support our athletes
going to the Tokyo Olympics. This laudable initiative will go a long way in
encouraging the Olympians to aim for gold, knowing fully well that the country
is ready to provide some sort of support to put them in the best frame of mind
and shape for the competition.”
Afolabi also praised both Quadri and Oshonaike for their
outstanding talents and consistency over the years both at local and
international levels and charged them to do the nation proud at the Olympics.
“The incredible and outstanding talents of Aruna Quadri and
Olufunke Oshonaike cannot be overemphasized. They have represented the nation
graciously at the various sporting events across the globe and we are proud of
them. I want to use this opportunity to encourage them to go all the way to the
2020 Olympic Games.”
Olufunke Oshonaike, who competed at the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics Games for the first time, will be at the Tokyo Olympics for the
seventh consecutive time, a feat never attained by any African athlete.
Aruna Quadri is currently ranked 27th in the ITTF male world
rankings. In 2014, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) named him
as the Player of the Year while he was also part of the Nigerian team that won
bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.