Tag: Aruna Quadri

Despite Nigeria’s exploits in table tennis exploits at the continental and global stages, players, officials and fans of the sport had to endure riling time at the inception of the ITTF Nigeria Open tournament which is held annually in Lagos since 2014.

The reason was simple because starting from 2014 when the ITTF Nigeria Open officially took off, all Nigerian players consistently failed to cross the Rubicon in both the men and women singles titles.

But Nigerians can now heave a sigh of relief with the big bang effect  of the nation’s No. 1 table tennis player, Aruna Quadri. He restored the pride of the country by winning the elusive ITTF Nigeria Open tourney in 2018 with a heroic display in the Men’s Single final match amongst other notable achievements beyond the shores of the land.

“For all these successes of the past year, I must redouble my efforts in training and continue to compete in major competitions across the globe,” Quadri pledged in his usual calm demeanour.“I will not be carried away by my rising profile but be humbled by this feat; and remain focused in order to maintain my status on the global rankings.”

Quadri has indeed made an indelible mark on the continental and world table tennis scene since gaining global limelight in 2014 when he became the first African player to win the prestigious ITTF world table tennis player of the year award.

Since then, his performance at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games had prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to name him the best African table tennis star of all time. Also, his victory at the 2017 Polish Open made him the first African to claim an ITTF tournament title outside Africa.

Last year was yet another brilliant outing for the Oyo State-born Nigerian table tennis star since he was crowned 2018 Sportsman of the Year at the annual Nigerian Sports Award.

Save for the blip at the 2018 ITTF African Cup where he lost to  Egypt’s Omar Assar in February, Quadri can look back on 2018 as a richly rewarding year strewn with many conquests over his fierce rivals.

In September 2018 at the ITTF African Championship in Mauritius, Quadri proved his worth against the best players on the continent.

Aside leading Nigeria to dethrone Egypt in the men’s team event, he fought his way to the final to claim the title, which had eluded him for four years. After the Mauritius triumph, Quadri has set his sight on winning the All African Games Gold, which is one missing medal in his impressive trophy cabinet at year’s event to be held in Morocco.

Quadri’s overall success in 2018 is evidenced by the December 2018 ITTF rankings where he was listed among the top 26-moving up four steps on the ladder of the world’s best table tennis players.

Earlier in the August 2018 ranking, Quadri became the first Nigerian – and the second African – to make the top 18 rating in the monthly ranking of the world table tennis ruling body, after rising from 20 to 18.

At club level with Sporting Club of Portugal, Quadri as captain contributed to his team’s impressive performance by reaching the semi-final at their maiden outing in the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Champions League.

Whether playing for his club or country, Quadri’s humble carriage, graceful play and heartfelt acknowledgement of the crowd even in the most difficult moments of any match, continue to elicit exultation from table tennis aficionados as his fan-base steadily rises within and outside Africa.

Quadri is a role model for many young athletes not just in table tennis but across all sports and he is conscious of being a good example to these impressionable youths. “I am conscious of the kind of impact I can have on the lives of a lot of people across the world. So, for me, I ensure I remain positive and a good ambassador of my country wherever I find myself.”

And without any fanfare, Quadri has been supporting promising youths to gain strong footings in their sporting careers, especially in table tennis.

It is an improvement from his start in 2018, Aruna Quadri has began the 2019 as the world’s number 26th rated player after the world table tennis ruling body – International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) yesterday released the January 2019 ranking.

Despite his inactivity in the last two months, Quadri remained among the top 26 players in the globe while this also rubbed off on his continental rating.

Being the current African champion, the Nigerian still remains the best rated African player in the world having displaced Egypt’s Omar Assar in October.

Following his inactiveness in the last four months, Assar still maintained his spot in 47th place having dropped drastically after his suspension by the Egyptian Table Tennis Federation (ETTF).

Segun Toriola and Olajide Omotayo were static in their rating as Toriola is rated 136 while Omotayo, a semifinalist at the 2018 ITTF African Championship is ranked 146th.

In the world rating, China’s Fan Zhendong and Ding Ning head into 2019 on top of the Men’s and Women’s World Rankings respectively.

The Chinese pair hit extraordinary heights in 2018 and were subsequently crowned winners of the ITTF Star Awards in Incheon, Korea.

Ding Ning’s return to the number one position completes a remarkable turnaround over the last 12 months. She had started January 2018 in 21st place.

Having already occupied the number one position for a total 48 months (Nov 2011 – Aug 2013; Oct 2014 – Oct 2015; Oct 2016 – Oct 2017), the 29-year-old sealed her place at the summit again upon reaching the semi-finals of the World Tour Grand Finals last December.

A productive 2018 saw her claim titles at the Women’s World Cup and Bulgarian Open, whilst finishing runner-up at the China and Australian Opens.

Zhendong’s first stint as world number one heads into its 10th month, having risen to the summit in April 2018.

The 21-year-old enjoyed an exceptional past year, winning three ITTF World Tour events (Hungarian, Qatar and Swedish Opens), the Men’s World Cup and the ITTF Asian Cup.

Aruna Quadri is certain to garner world ranking point despite his exit at the ITTF World Tour tagged China Open after the Nigerian lost 1-4 to former World and Olympic Champion China’s Zhan Jike in the third round of the preliminary round of the men’s singles.

Earlier before playing against the returnee Chinese star, Quadri had beaten Iran’s Nima Alamian in the second round (round of 64) of the preliminary round.

Having started his campaign against a French opponent with a 4-0 bashing, Quadri repeated the same result against the Iranian star with a convincing 15-13, 17-15, 11-4, 11-8 (4-0) bashing to set up an epic clash against Zhan Jike.

Being the second meeting against the Chinese star, the encounter witnessed huge support for Zhan Jike who wanted to fight his way into the main draw but he was made to work for the victory.

Despite racing to a 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-9), the Chinese got from Quadri a scare in the fourth game which the BNigerian won 8-11. The fifth game brought out the best in the two players, with support from the home fans inspiring Zhan Jike. When the Chinese star was leading 10-8 with a point to end the game, Quadri levelled up at 10-10. But Zhan Jike knew what the loss of the match meant to him and he won the next two crucial points to end the encounter at 12-10 to get an overall 4-1 win.

However, Quadri will benefit from his performance at the Hong Kong and China Opens when the world ranking is released next week by the ITTF.

At the Hong Kong Open, the Nigerian made it to the last 16. He managed to win two  of three matches needed to make it to the main draw of the men’s singles.

NIGERIAN table tennis fans who expected to see Aruna Quadri play when Nigeria lost to India in the final of Men’s Team event at Oxenford Studio in Gold Coast, were utterly disappointed.

The Olympic quarter-finalist merely watched from the sidelines as Segun Toriola, Bode Abiodun and Olajide Omotayo made futile efforts to contain the rampaging Indians who won the gold at the end of a thrilling game enjoyed by the spectators at the venue.

Speaking to NationSport after the game, Aruna revealed that he was nursing an injury which stopped him from taking to the board against the Indians.

“I felt bad watching the game from the sidelines. I’ve been battling to recover from an injury I sustained before arriving in Gold Coast for this Commonwealth Games,” he began in the exclusive chat at the magnificent Oxenford studio.

Aruna, however, allayed fears that he may not be able to feature in the Men’s singles event which begins tomorrow.

“The good news is that I have resumed training and should hopefully be ready to play when the singles event begin.”

NIGERIA’S beacon of hope in table tennis and one of the favourites for the men’s singles at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Aruna Quadri, says he is hoping for something good in Gold Coast, Australia.

Quadri believes he is  well prepared for the challenges in the competition.

“So far, my preparation for Commonwealth Games is going on well as I am highly motivated for the games. I started my campaign in Kenya where I featured in the ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup. It was not a bad outing as I made it to the final. I was at Qatar and German Opens where I did not make it to the main draw. I was a bit disappointed that I could not make it to the main draw because I did not really play very well but I was satisfied with my performance.

“I think my participation in these three major tournaments, coupled with competing for my club in the ETTU Champions League, has prepared me for the games,” he said.

The star admitted that the expectations are high but he would not be carried away by the pressure. “I know that expectations are high but I will not allow this to disturb me. I am aware of the Indians, the English players and Singaporeans and I also know I am one of the favourites but that does not guarantee a medal in the singles. But I going to give my best and play without any pressure. I am aware in table tennis that anything is possible because you can lose or win. But I am optimistic that something good will happen but nothing is sure.”