The Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) executive council has praised Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna for his quarter-final finish at the just-concluded WTT Grand Smash series in Singapore.
The 35-year-old, who is the number one ranked player on the continent, became the first African to reach the quarter-final stage of the WTT Singapore Smash after overcoming Japanese star and current world number four Tomokazu Harimoto in the Round of 16.
Aruna ended his three-game losing streak to Harimoto with a dominant performance that earned him even more praise during the tournament.
However, he fell to another familiar foe in Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, currently ranked fifth in the world.
The heavy-hitting Nigerian was defeated 4-0 by the Brazilian, with his tournament coming to an end.
Despite his exit, Aruna will earn 350 ranking points for his exploits as one of the last eight players, adding to his current rating, which will definitely lead to a rise when the new rankings are released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) next week.
Khaled El-Salhy, the President of ATTF, commended Aruna as he continues to put Africa on the map and set positive examples for the sport on the continent and around the globe with his displays at the Olympic Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and WTT Cup Finals.
“Congratulations for your fantastic show-up in Singapore especially for the great win in the round of 16 against Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto to qualify for the quarter final,” El-Salhy said.
“I would like just to pass to you my full appreciation on behalf of the ATTF Executive Council (EC) as the main ambassador of African table tennis in ITTF super events.
“We wish you to continue to make the continent proud and a great ambassador of your country and Africa,” he added.
With the highly-rated WTT Champions Xinxiang up next in China in April, Aruna has been listed as one of the top-ranked table tennis stars who will compete for the $800,000 prize money.
