Nigeria’s table tennis superstar Quadri Aruna last claimed the men’s African singles title in 2018 at the expense of Egyptian veteran Ahmed Saleh in Mauritius but the absence of famous champion Omar Assar who has since dominated the scene. But last Friday, Aruna, against all odds, ended his winless run in a fashionable manner against the storied Assar. OLALEKAN OKUSAN writes on the engaging rivalry between two of Africa’s best table tennis players.
Quadri Aruna has played in all finals of African table tennis championships and his last win was in Mauritius in 2018 when he defeated Ahmed Saleh of Egypt to be crowned the champion of the continent.
Ever since, he has been unlucky having played in finals in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 without claiming any title but he finally broke his duck in Algiers last week to end his four-year winless run.
Indeed, the icing on the cake for the Nigerian was the manner he reclaimed the title against his arch-rival Omar Assar of Egypt.
Before last Friday’s final of the men’s singles against Assar, Aruna only managed to drop a game against Assar’s sibling – Khaled in the 4-1 quarterfinal win but in the final against the senior Assar, he was behind twice in the encounter.
The first two games were dominated by the Egyptian who won 11-8, 11-9 and Aruna fought back to put the tie at 2-1 after winning the third game at 11-8.
Even the Algerian fans were thrilled by Aruna’s win, but Assar regained his lead with 11-6 win to put the match at 3-1 with the Egyptian needing a win to put the encounter beyond Aruna.
However, the tide turned for Aruna as a change of tactics coupled with his never-say-die attitude on the table put him back into the match as he won the next two games at 11-7, 13-11 to tie at 3-3.
The final game had all the elements of a classic as both players played their best with Aruna racing to a lead at 7-3 but Assar fought back to level at 7-7.
When it was 7-7, it was clear that the match could go either way, but it was Aruna that brought out his tricks and this worked for him when the game was at 12-12 as he picked the two consecutive points that handed him a 14-12 win.
Since their maiden encounter in 2010, both Aruna and Assar had met 17 times with the Egyptian having an upper hand with nine wins to Aruna’s eight wins.
“It is always never over until it is over because we both started from 0-0,” an elated Aruna said. “Don’t forget that in the first game I was leading 5-1; I lost and also lost some chances but of course, I didn’t give up.
“I was just fighting and fighting because I knew if it were my game then it would happen, if not it would never happen. So, I kept fighting and fighting and it worked for me.
“Everyone that featured in the competition wanted to win. But I didn’t know it would be possible like this.
“Also, don’t forget that in the last five editions of the African championships, I was always in the final and this means I have not won any title in the last four years but I’m very happy that I finally won something after years of missing out on the title,” he added.
Aruna would recall what happened at the 2022 ITTF Africa Cup in Lagos where he lost the title to Assar after copping an injury in the final game to the disappointment of the fans.
“I was really determined to break my winless streak after failing in the final in Lagos last May.
Even when he was leading, I came back into the match at 3-3. But in the final game, I was leading 4-0 as everything was working for me until I sustained a thigh injury during a rally, and I had to surrender the match to him.
“I should have won in Lagos as I was in the best position to win but in sport things like that happen.
“But in Algiers, I should not have won because I was trailing him 3-1 and my victory was to compensate for my effort in Lagos and I believe that everything happened for a reason.
“Being my first time in Algeria, the city of Algiers will remain in my memory for a long time to come because it was here, I regained my title which I lost in 2019 to Assar and I reclaimed it back from him here again.
“Algiers will remain evergreen with me.”
Reflecting on his success in Algiers, Aruna sounded philosophical, adding nothing comes easy in life.
“You should not give up in life,” he said. “This is sport, nobody would win all the time.
“Losing gives you the opportunity to come back stronger. So, you should not give up, just like me, I didn’t win anything in the last four years.
“I have always played very well internationally but I didn’t give up, I kept fighting and fighting so in life, one should not give up.”
Meanwhile, respected table tennis umpire, John Peters noted that the rivalry between Aruna and Assar had indeed brought glamour and excitement to table tennis in Africa.
“When you watch these two players playing, you will enjoy every moment of the match,” Peters said. “Their match is always like a classic and they have proved that they remain the best players in the continent.
“They have attracted a lot of people to the sport through their performance and they remain shining examples for upcoming players, and I cannot afford to miss their match because it is always action-packed,” he added.