By Olalekan Okusan
Barely 24 hours after signing for German Club, TTC RhönSprudel Maberzell Fulda, Aruna Quadri has been confirmed in the Top 20 of the monthly International Table Tennis Federation(ITF) as he maintains his 18th position for February.
Quadri enjoyed pole position following his round of 32 spot at the just concluded German Open while other African players slide in the ITTF rankings.
But Omotayo who will compete later this week at the Spanish Open dropped three places to 89th in the latest ranking following his early exit at the German Open.
Omotayo, slide to fifth spot in African ranking after sliding to 89 in world rating and was actually displaced by 40-year-old Egyptian veteran player, Ahmed Saleh .
The former African Champion moved 16 places in the rating to displace Omotayo as the fourth best African player in the world occupying 85 in the world ranking.
But Egypt’s Omar Assar was also stagnant as the 2019 ITTF Africa Cup champion still occupies 29 spot while the third best ranked African in the world Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw dropped to 78 from 76.
China’s Xu Xin replaces compatriot Fan Zhendong at the top of the order of the men’s world rankings just as China occupies the top four places complete with Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan in the third and fourth positions.
In a related development, former President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi has hailed Quadri’s movement to Germany.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Aruna Quadri joins Bundesliga club
Oshodi said the move would give the world number 18 player the chance to test might with the best in the sport: “Aruna Quadri is now one of the best players in the world and we hope this move will give him the opportunity to improve his skills and continue to improve his global rating.
“The Bundesliga has the best players in the world and Quadri will feel at home because he’s very popular among Germans; and we hope his move to Germany will serve as an inspiration for the younger Nigerian players,” Oshodi added.
Leave a Reply