Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna kicked off the new year with a victory over British champion Liam Pitchford in his opening game at the WTT Star Contender Doha in Qatar on Thursday, Afrosport reports.
Aruna, seeded fifth in the men’s singles, came from a set down to beat Pitchford 4-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9) and secure a place in the third round at the WTT Star Contender Doha.
The 36-year-old Nigerian, who is the only African remaining in the tournament following Egypt’s Dina Meshref’s defeat earlier in the day, went down early in the opening set but fought back by winning the next three sets to seal a comeback win.
Quadri Aruna will face Alvaro Robles in the next round after the Spaniard defeated Japan’s Yuda Tanaka 3-1 (14-12, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9) in the second round.
Meanwhile, a major upset occurred in the men’s singles as third seed, Germany’s Patrick Franziska was eliminated by South Korea’s Park Ganghyeon, who won the contest 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8), despite losing the first two sets.
Frenchman Thibault Poret continued his impressive run in Doha, defeating No.14 seed Lim Jonghoon of Korea Republic (11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8) to reach his first round of 16 at the WTT Star Contender stage.
In the women’s category, Egyptian Meshref was ousted by China’s Chen Yi, exiting the tournament in the second round with a 3-1 loss.
Other results saw Britt Eerland advancing to the last 16 after a notable 3-1 win over No.14 seed Manika Batra of India (10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3). Romanian Bernadette Szocs also dug deep, coming from behind twice to defeat China’s Geman Zong 3-2 (3-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9).
