Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has become the first African to reach the quarter-final stage in the history of the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals.
The Nigerian is making a loud statement and his presence is being felt amidst the array of stars competing at the 2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Centre in Houston, Texas, United States.
Earlier on Thursday, Aruna smashed the round of 32 record set in 2019 by Egypt’s duo of Omar Assar and Ahmed Saleh after beating India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran 4-3 (11-9, 7-11, 13-15, 11-3, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7) into the round of 16.
But late on Friday, November 26, he erased the record to set another one with a place in the quarterfinal of the championships.
In the round of 16 contest, the 2014 ITTF World Player of Year improved the record to become the first Nigerian and African player to feature in the last eight at the World Table Tennis Championship after he defeated Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson 4-3 (11-9, 5-11, 13-11, 5-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6).
“It’s amazing. I had to dig deep, and I gave everything I had. I’m excited about the quarter-final. I’ve been playing very well and the spirit of never giving up is always there,” said Aruna during a post-match interview.
Aruna’s historic passage to the last eight at the World Table Tennis Championship is a testament to the growth of table tennis in Africa. “It means a lot to me,” he said, “especially for Nigeria and the whole of Africa. Table tennis is growing very fast in Africa. Now we have several players in the Top 100.”
