Segun Toriola

Segun Toriola

Toriola in London, 2012
Personal information
Full name	Segun Moses Toriola
Nationality	Nigeria
Born	18 September 1974 (50 years old) Ilorin, Nigeria
Sport
Sport	Table tennis
Medal record Men's table tennis Representing Nigeria All-Africa Games 1995 Harare Singles 1995 Harare Doubles 1995 Harare Team 1999 Johannesburg Singles 1999 Johannesburg Doubles 1999 Johannesburg Mixed Doubles 1999 Johannesburg Team 2003 Abuja Singles 2003 Abuja Doubles 2003 Abuja Team 2007 Algiers Singles 2007 Algiers Doubles 2011 Maputo Mixed Doubles 2003 Abuja Mixed Doubles 2007 Algiers Team 2011 Maputo Team 2011 Maputo Doubles Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester Singles 2006 Melbourne Doubles 2002 Manchester Team 2006 Melbourne Singles 2006 Melbourne Team African Championships 1992 Lagos Doubles 1992 Lagos Mixed Doubles 1992 Lagos Team 1994 Cairo Doubles 1994 Cairo Team 1998 Port Louis Singles 2002 Bizerte Singles 2002 Bizerte Mixed Doubles 1992 Lagos Singles 1994 Cairo Singles 2002 Bizerte Doubles 2002 Bizerte Team 1998 Port Louis Doubles

Segun Moses Toriolalisten^ⓘ (born 18 September 1974 in Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria) is a retired Nigeria professional table tennis player.

Biography

He is the youngest of nine brothers.

Since 1995, he had been ranked amongst the top table tennis players in Africa. Ranked number one in Africa from 1998 until June 2008, when Egyptian Eli Saleh Ahmed became the leading African table tennis player. However, since 2009, Toriola reclaimed his top position. He is known for his unusual style of forehand play. Although his footwork has been criticised, his topspin has caused upset when he has gone up against top world players.

During his career, he has won multiple medals in international singles tournaments. These achievements include:

• 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), 4 Doubles Gold Medals (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007), 1 Mixed Doubles Gold Medal (1999, with Bose Kaffo; they also won silver in 2003) and 3 Team Gold Medals (1995, 1999, 2003).

He represented Nigeria at seven Summer Olympics debuting at Barcelona. His most notable 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 referred to 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.

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

• List of table tennis players
• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games

External links

• Segun Toriola at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)