Edem eyes `Adopt an Athlete Initiative’ ahead of Paris 2024

Offiong Edem, Nigeria’s table tennis player who lost in the Tokyo Olympics women’s singles second round, says she is looking forward to getting help to succeed at Paris 2004. Edem told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) she would be hoping to benefit from the “adopt an athlete initiative” to aid her preparations for the […]

Offiong Edem, Nigeria’s table tennis player who lost in the Tokyo Olympics women’s singles second round, says she is looking forward to getting help to succeed at Paris 2004.

Edem told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) she would be hoping to benefit from the “adopt an athlete initiative” to aid her preparations for the Paris Olympics.

The 34-year-old, who participated in her fourth Olympics at Tokyo, lost in the second round 1-4 to Lily Zhang of the U.S on Monday.

Speaking with NAN from Tokyo, Edem said getting a sponsor through the initiative would help her to attend more competitions and be ready for the next Olympics.

NAN reports that the initiative was created by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development for individuals, state governments and corporate bodies to adopt and financially support athletes.

This was to help such athletes prepare for international events such as the Olympics.

“I am hoping that I will feature in the `adopt an athlete initiative’.

“If I can get a sponsor through that means, I will be very happy because I will be able to attend many tournaments ahead of Paris 2024.

“This will enable me to gain more experience and exposure, as well as improve my International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings,’’ the table tennis player said.