Quadri Aruna played one of the games of his life yesterday to dispatch Germany’s Kilian Ort at the WTT Star Contender Bangkok in Thailand.
The German, a familiar foe for Aruna in the Bundesliga was at his best in the second round of the men’s singles as he took the lead in the first game .
Though Aruna forced the game into a deuce, a clever play earned the German a 13-11 win.
Yet Aruna showed his status as an elite player when he led from the start of the second game to win at 11-9. Ready to cause a major upset, the German claimed the third game at 11-6 but again Aruna retaliated with same scoreline in the fourth game at 11-6.
In the decider, Aruna raced to a lead from the start with two points margin and went ahead to win at 11-6 to complete a 3-2 (11-13, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-6) to progress to third round of the $250,000 prize money tournament.
“I was a bit tired after my journey from Moscow where I featured for my club in the Russian league but the warm-up earlier today really put me in shape for the match,” Aruna told NationSport yesterday from Bangkok. “It was a bit too tensed for me in the match but I was too confident that I can survive in the match.
“It was a goods win and I am looking forward for another tough encounter against Liam Pitchford of England,” Aruna added.
Meanwhile, world number four and tournament number one seed , Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan, suffered a shock exit following a stunning 3-1 defeat in his round of 32 clash with China’s Xu Yingbin (12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-2).
WTT Star Contender Bangkok 2023 taking place at Huamark Indoor Stadium is the first time the WTT Series will be staged in Thailand as players battle for a share of the total prize pool of $250,000 as well as competition for the 600 World Ranking points on offer to the Men’s and Women’s Singles winners.