Bose Kaffo Quits National Team
From Emeka Enechi and Pius Ayinor in Athens
Nigeria's foremost female table tennis player Bose Kaffo announced her retirement from international competitions in Athens yesterday.
Kaffo who spoke in an emotion laden voice belied in bitterness, said she was calling it quits so as to enable her pursue her personal life. She said 'It is sad but the truth is that I am retiring. You know, in life there is always time for everything and I think it is time for me to move on with my life now. This is my 20th year in tennis and I have not seen anything I can say I have done in my personal life. I cannot lay my hands on anything I can call my own since I started plying. I have competed basically in all the African titles. I can say that I am very fortunate because I am one out of the 120 million Nigerians. Not everyone has been that lucky."
The former African queen admitted regrettably that the game had taken a nose-dive in the country saying 'the authorities will have to put extra effort to return the game to its glorious days.'
Asked how she felt quitting the sport without winning a medal at the Olympics stage, she said the Olympics is not a day's dream adding: "The Olympics is something that is planned over a period of time. It is not something you just wish to do and hope to do it over night. "Countries that win medals at the Olympics spend years and money preparing for the games. You cannot just wake up one morning, pack your things and hop into the plane for the games and hope that you will come back with the medals. I am happy I attended the games in Athens, which is the home of Olympics. I could not have wished for more. However, I would have loved to play among the best 10 in the world. That, notwithstanding, I thank God for guiding me this far."
On the state of the game in Nigeria, Kafo lamented the deplorable position and lack of quality facilities in the country saying it does more harm than good to up coming athletes. She said she found it difficult to explain the speed with which the facilities degenerated. "The Indoor Sports Hall used to be one of the best but today, it has assumed a deplorable state which cannot produce an African champion not to talk of a world champion.
"We used to be proud of the facilities we had then. We invited our friends to the place with every little opportunity we had but today we hardly take our friends there because the place is in a very bad state."
Kafo has represented Nigeria in all table tennis competitions in the last 20 years. She was once Africa's best female tennis player and currently plays for T.T.C Marmende of France.
Reacting to the news, Chairman of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation Cosmas Maduka said Kaffo took him unawares but described her decision as a welcome development.
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