Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna is determined to break his losing streak against Sweden’s Anton Kallberg when they face off on Wednesday, 16 April, in the Group 16 decider of the 2025 ITTF World Cup in Macao, China.
Having suffered defeat against the Swede in their last three encounters, Aruna is eager to turn the tables on the 27-year-old European star.
Despite battling a hamstring injury, Aruna managed a 3-1 win over Benin Republic’s Abdel-Kader Salifou in his group opener. He is now aiming for revenge against Kallberg, who is equally determined to maintain his winning streak against the Nigerian.
“I will prepare. It’s one match after the other. I plan to relax on Tuesday, April 15, and see how it goes. I lost to him in our last three meetings, but I hope to get my revenge this time,” Aruna said.
In response, Kallberg, who defeated Salifou 4-0 on Tuesday to set up the final group match against Aruna, said, “We’ve played quite often in the last few years and know each other well. I’ll review our past matches and prepare accordingly.”
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Hana Goda, Dina Meshref, and Omar Assar are focused on securing their spots in the knockout stage after impressive victories in their group openers.
Goda will face Austria’s Sofia Polcanov, while Meshref will compete against China’s Man Kuai to determine who advances to the knockout stage.
Unlike Goda, Meshref, and Aruna, who secured their wins on Monday, 14 April, Assar began his campaign on Tuesday, with a 4-0 victory over Cameroon’s Ylane Batix. He will now face South Korea’s An Jaehyun in the final group match at the Galaxy Arena in Macao.
After his first win, a relieved Assar said, “All the players in the tournament are very strong, so there is no easy draw. I have An Jaehyun tomorrow. He’s a good player. I’ll do my rituals and fight for every point. We’ve played several times before, and I’ll study the game to perform as well as I did today.”
Egypt’s duo of Mariam Alhodaby and Mohamed El-Beiali, Salifou and Batix have exited the tournament after suffering their second group match defeat on Tuesday.
