Latest African men’s singles champion Quadri Aruna has described his triumph at the 2022 ITTF Africa Senior Championships in Algiers as a consolation for losing the ITTF Africa Cup in Lagos.
Aruna reclaimed the title he last won in 2018 after a comeback against Egypt’s Omar Assar in the final of the men’s singles with a 4-3 (8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 14-12) win to be crowned the new continental champion.
At the ITTF Africa Cup last May in Lagos, Aruna got injured during the final of the men’s singles despite dominating the final game to surrender the title to Assar.
But in Algiers at the weekend, Aruna bounced from another imminent defeat at 3-1 down to stun the Egyptian 4-3.
“I think I should have won in Lagos at the ITTF Africa Cup but of course, nothing is sure,” Aruna recalled.“ The match was 3-3 and I was leading 4-0 in the final game and was in the best position to win but I got injured and lost the title.
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“Of course, I think I should have won in Lagos but here in Algiers, I should not have won because I was down 1-3 and I think the win here was a kind of consolation for me for the defeat in Lagos.
“ I’m very happy and, everything happens for a reason, so I give thanks to God that this finally happened after four years.
“Algeria will be a country I will never forget, because it is my first time here and my win for the first time and visiting here will bring an evergreen memory to me,” he added.
Aruna who had made it to the final in the last five editions of the continental championships added: “In the last five editions of major tournaments in Africa, I was always in the final, so this win means a lot to me because I have not been winning any title in the last four years. I’m very happy that I finally won something after four years.”