Nigeria’s Isau Ogunkunle became the star attraction at the South Paris Arena during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, silencing the home crowd with a stunning 3-1 victory over France’s Maxime Thomas in the quarterfinals of the Men’s Class 4 table tennis event.
The unseeded Nigerian, the only remaining African in the competition after the exits of his seven teammates and Egyptian counterparts, played his heart out to keep the continent’s hopes alive for a medal in table tennis at Paris 2024.
In their two previous encounters at Tokyo 2020 and the Italian Open in 2022, Ogunkunle had been defeated by Thomas.
However, on Wednesday, September 4, he was determined not to be beaten a third time. Like a wounded lion, Ogunkunle began the match with the intent to disappoint the French fans, though he lost the first game 9-11.
With encouragement from national coach Nasiru Sule, the African champion ignored the noisy spectators and leveled the score with an 11-5 win in the second game. Ogunkunle took the lead in the third game at 8-4, but the Frenchman, buoyed by home support, leveled at 8-8, putting Ogunkunle in a tight spot. Remaining calm, Ogunkunle changed tactics, confusing his opponent and winning the third game 11-9.
The fourth game saw Ogunkunle dominate, ending the Frenchman’s dream and silencing the home fans with an 11-6 win, completing his 3-1 rout of Thomas. Ogunkunle, now the only African to reach the medal zone in table tennis at Paris, celebrated his victory with a triumphant shout, earning applause from the crowd.
An excited Ogunkunle described the win as the best of his career and promised to leave Paris with the gold medal.
“I am so excited to win this match because it is my first victory against him after he defeated me twice in major tournaments. Today, I showed that I cannot be beaten three times on a big stage by the same player. The victory was sweet because I defeated him in front of his home crowd at the Paralympic Games,” said the Ogun State athlete.
Ogunkunle, who has already taken down two top seeds on his way to the semifinal, will face another experienced star and two-time Paralympic Games gold medalist, South Korea’s Kim Young-gun, in the semifinal on Saturday, September 7.