Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna on Thursday suffered a 4-3 defeat to top seed Omar Assar in the men’s singles final at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup in Tunis, Afrosport reports.
Aruna, the defending champion, was dethroned by Egyptian Assar, who fought hard to record scores of 11-3, 14-16, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, and 11-6.
Big Win for Omar Assar in Tunisia.
Claims a hard fought 4-3 victory over Quadri Aruna. #ITTFAfricaCup pic.twitter.com/0GyX5dQtOZ— ITTF-Africa (@ITTFAfrica) February 27, 2025
After the match, Assar described his win as the most challenging of his career, saying, “This is the toughest tournament, and I am so exhausted from all the matches I played in Tunis. I thank my teammates and our host, Tunisia, for being a good host.”
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles final, defending champion Dina Meshref was beaten 4-2 by 17-year-old top seed Hana Goda in an all-Egyptian affair.
Africa No. 1 Goda rallied from two sets down to beat her 30-year-old compatriot with scores of 9-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, and 12-10.
It’s GOLD for Goda! 🔥🏆
The young star storms back from 2 sets down to defeat Dina Meshref 4-2 and claim the crown! #ITTFAfricaCup pic.twitter.com/JBHpYwRaMM— ITTF-Africa (@ITTFAfrica) February 27, 2025
A relieved Goda credited her mental coach for the comeback, stating, “I think the credit must go to my mental coach who advised me that even when I am down, I should never give up. This motivated me to come back in the game. I must also commend my opponent for putting up a good performance, and I am happy with the victory.”
Fifty players from Algeria, Benin Republic, Cameroon, Congo DR, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Egypt, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia competed in the three-day tournament, which also served as qualifiers for the 2025 ITTF World Cup.
All four semi-finalists in the men’s and women’s events have secured a ticket to the 2025 ITTF World Cup in Macao.
