Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna hit the end of the road at the Singapore Smash 2025 after losing 3-1 to Brazilian rival Hugo Calderano in the second round of the men’s singles, Afrosport reports.
Aruna, who won the most recent meeting between the two stars, went into Wednesday’s game after overcoming South Korea’s Oh Jung-sun 3-1 in the first round.
The Nigerian, however, was unable to replicate the same performance against Calderano, who rallied from a set down to take the day and advance to the round of 16.
The 28-year-old Brazilian won the game with scores of 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, and 11-6, as he claimed his third victory in the last four encounters against Aruna.
“I always knew Aruna was a very dangerous player. He can come back from 2-0 down, and he showed that again today,” said Calderano.
“Everyone knows how capable he is of winning these kinds of matches. It was another valuable experience playing against him.”
Aruna, meanwhile, will be hoping to defend his title at the 2025 African Cup set to take place in Tunisia later this month before competing at the WTT Champions Chongqing in China in March.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda was eliminated by Man Kuai in the second round, losing 3-1 to the Chinese with scores of 11-1, 5-11, 11-1, and 12-10.
The Egyptian contingent, including Omar Assar, Youssef Abdelaziz, Mohamed El-Beiali, Dina Meshref, and Mariam Alhodaby, also faced early exits, failing to progress beyond the first round of the $1.5 million tournament.
