Nigeria table tennis junior champion,  Olajide Omotayo has moved his training base to Italy and Switzerland with  the objectives of winning medals at the 2014  Commonwealth games in Glasgow Scotland.

Omotayo was Nigeria’s best player at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)-organised World Junior Championships which took place in Rabat, Morocco. He won the Asoju-oba Table Tennis Championship in November and also emerged the junior champion at the Lagos International Table Tennis Classics.

According to the youngster, traveling out of the country would help him improve his skills and play against the best players in the world and also will give him the chance to compete in the inaugural Swiss Premier League, serving off in 2014.

The 2012 National Sports Festival gold medallist said: “I am currently training in Italy while I will be playing the division one league in Switzerland. I would have loved to go to France or Germany instead because they have stronger leagues than the Italian and Switzerland leagues. I chose to play in Switzerland and Italy because I want to start from the scratch, as I may not be able to cope with the players playing in division one in France and Germany for now. Beginning with this will help improve my game so that I can compete very well with top players in major international competitions.”

With his enterprising style of play, coupled with excellent footwork, Omotayo dazzled in Morocco and for him, winning diadems for Nigeria at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games remains one of his priorities in the game.

“I have all it takes to become one of the world’s best because I am still young, having won series of laurels at cadet, junior and senior levels in Nigeria. Even though I would have loved to win more before leaving, I know with God by my side I will make Nigeria proud,” he said.

“I also want to win laurels for Nigeria in events such as Commonwealth, All Africa and Olympics Games. I am also aiming to become the first Nigerian player to win the World Championship and Olympics medals,” he added.

Listing some of the skills he picked up in Morocco, Omotayo said: “I learned a lot of things from the Morocco World Junior Championships, like the different styles and techniques; especially the Asian players because they are so fast, mobile, accurate and strong on the table.”

Omotayo believes that leaving Nigeria for Italy is the best decision he has made this year.

“I feel so happy leaving Nigeria at a tender age and playing abroad for a professional club as this will enable me to be a good player in future because I have all it takes like facilities, equipment as well as a personal coach, which I was lacking while in Nigeria.”