Tag: Aruna

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Hana Goda are among the elite players set to compete at the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2025, taking place in Slovenia.

The WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2025 boasts a prize pool of $300,000 and offers valuable ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking points.

The singles champions will receive $17,000 and 600 points, while the doubles champions will take home $5,500 and 600 points. This highly anticipated event, hosted at Hala Tivoli in Ljubljana, has attracted a star-studded lineup of table tennis greats.

Aruna, currently ranked 24^th  in the world and the highest-ranked African player, is seeded No. 14 in the men’s singles and has received a bye into the second round (last 32). He is expected to face the winner between Japan’s Shunsuke Togami and China’s Xu Haidong on Friday, June 20.

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Similarly, Goda, seeded No. 15 in the women’s singles, also received a bye into the second round. She is set to face the winner between Japan’s Sakura Yokoi and South Korea’s Joo Cheonhui.

Some of the world’s best players will battle it out over five events in what promises to be a week-long table tennis spectacle.

Leading the charge in the men’s singles is Brazilian star and 2025 World Championships runner-up, Hugo Calderano.

Known as the ‘Thrill from Brazil’, Calderano returns to Slovenia with bold ambition, looking to defend his title from last year’s triumph.

Joining him are global heavyweights including Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, winner of the Men’s Singles title at WTT Star Contender Doha 2025; Felix Lebrun, champion at WTT Champions Montpellier 2024; and Slovenian home favourite Darko Jorgic.

In the women’s singles, Japan’s Miwa Harimoto headlines the field after claiming the title at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025. Her compatriot Hina Hayata is also back to defend her title from last year’s Ljubljana tournament.

Other strong contenders include South Korea’s Shin Yubin, seeking her first WTT Star Contender title, as well as Romania’s Bernadette Szocs and China’s Qian Tianyi, both of whom are expected to make deep runs in the competition.

Africa’s table tennis stars Dina Meshref, Hana Goda, and Quadri Aruna made a strong start at the 2025 ITTF World Cup, securing impressive victories in their group stage matches at the Galaxy Arena in Macao, China.

Meshref, the Egyptian legend triumphed over Singapore’s Zhu Changzhou with a 3-1 (11-9, 11-9, 11-5, 6-11) win, marking her 8th appearance at the World Cup.

Goda, the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup champion, dominated local favourite Seak Hui Li, winning 4-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-4, 11-8) without breaking a sweat.

In a thrilling rematch of their ITTF African Cup encounter, Aruna defeated Benin’s Abdel-Kader Salifou 3-1 (11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8). Despite trailing in the second and fourth games, Aruna held his nerve to secure the win.

“A first match in such events is always difficult, and I am happy that I managed to remain calm,” Aruna said.  “Getting a 2-0 lead gave me some confidence. He did come back in the third and fourth games, but I managed to hold on for the win. I am really happy and satisfied with my performance.”

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Salifou, gracious in defeat, commented: “Congratulations to Aruna for a good win. This is only my second competition since I started representing Benin, and I am playing in the international circuit after a gap of 5 years, so I think that showed a bit. I had chances to get a draw and was leading 8-6 in the fourth game, but credit to Aruna for coming back well. I will keep trying my best and focus on the next match now.”

But there were tough losses for other Africans in the tournament as Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali faced a tough opponent in Chinese prodigy Huang Youzheng, losing 4-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-2, 11-8).

The match featured the tournament’s first-ever Table Tennis Review (TTR), which upheld a foul call against El-Beiali.

Cameroon’s Ylane Batix showcased his skills but ultimately fell 4-0 to South Korea’s An Jaehyun.

Despite a spirited performance, Egypt’s Mariam Alhodaby was defeated 4-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 11-2) by Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem in an entertaining match that drew enthusiastic reactions from the crowd.

The tournament continues with over 96 players competing for the top prize, promising more exciting matches ahead.

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18^th  in the Week 12 ranking released yesterday, March 18^th .

Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking, as per the latest update from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year with another semi-final finish. This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who was crowned champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.

Aruna moved up from 19^th  place in Week 11 to 18^th  in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17^th  to 19^th . Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17^th  place, moving up from 18^th .

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Despite a quarterfinal exit at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali climbed to 45^th , making him the third-best-ranked African player in the world.

In the Women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the Week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.

China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semi-final finish in Chongqing.

In the Women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has returned to the top 20 of the ITTF world rankings following his impressive run to the semi-finals of the 2025 WTT Star Contender Doha, despite a tough defeat to Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto.

Aruna, previously ranked 21^st , moved up in the rankings after a strong showing at the tournament. His victories over Spain’s Alvaro Robles and Korea’s Park Ganghyeon secured him a spot in the last four, making him the only African male player to achieve this feat twice at a WTT Star Contender event.

However, Aruna fell short in the semi-final against Harimoto, the tournament’s top seed. The Japanese sensation proved too strong, winning in straight sets — 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 — to deny Aruna a place in the final.

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Despite the loss, Aruna’s remarkable performances in Doha earned him valuable ranking points and boosted his global standing.

Nigeria’s other player in the top 100, Olajide Omotayo remained in the 96^th  position, while Matthew Kuti dropped two positions to 198^th  in the world ranking. Mustapha Mustapha and Abdulrahaman Abdullahi complete the country’s top five at 399th and 400^th  in the world.

In the women’s ranking, Offiong Edem – who has announced her retirement from international duties – remained the top-ranked player in the country, maintaining 103rd in the country ahead of Fatimo Bello (129^th ), Hope Udoaka (189^th ), Ajoke Ojomu (193^rd) and Aishat Rabiu (233^rd ) in second, third, fourth and fifth respectively in the country.

 Edem, Bello get tough foes in Women’s Singles

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has been handed a familiar foe in Romania’s Eduard Ionescu while Olajide Omotayo has a tough duel against Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan in the first round of Men’s Singles in the table tennis competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In the draw conducted yesterday at the South Paris Arena, Nigeria’s Offiong Edem will lock horns against Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi while debutant Fatimo Bello will face a Herculean task against the Chinese-born French star Jia Nana Yuan in the first round of the Women’s Singles.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games mark a momentous occasion for table tennis as its 10th appearance as an Olympic sport, since its debut at Seoul 1988 in South Korea.

Aruna and Ionescu  have met  only once in  the semi-final of the European Champions League where  the Romanian won 3-2  thus Paris 2024 will be their second meeting in any competition.

Meanwhile,  Omotayo will face south-paw Iranian whose style most times confuses opponents and has also taken down some of the finest players in the world with his awkward style of play. Omotayo will have to be at his best if he hopes to win his first match at the Olympic Games.

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Meanwhile, it was a mixed fortune for other African stars at the draws as Egypt’s Omar Assar will face Madagascar’s debutant Fabio Rakotoarimanana while Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa will take on Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar.

Nigerian-born Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu will square up against Sweden’s Anton Kallberg, while the only African starting his campaign from the preliminary round of the Men’s Singles is Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw who will take on Nepal’s Santoo Shrestha.

In the Women’s Singles, African champion Dina Meshref of Egypt will face Spain’s Maria Xiao while her compatriot Hana Goda will confront returning nursing mother Britt Eerland of the Netherlands. Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi will take on world No. 2 Chen Meng of China.

Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou will start her quest for a place in the first round when she takes on Guyana’s Chelsea Edghill in the preliminary round of the Women’s Singles.

However, it was a tough task for Africa’s representatives in the team event as Egypt was handed Chinese Taipei and China in the first round of the Men and Women’s events.

Just like it is in the Team draws, Assar and Meshref will face World No. 1 Wang Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha of China in the first round of the Mixed Doubles event.

With the draw now complete, the table tennis world waits eagerly for July 27, when table tennis kicks off as the world’s best table tennis players are poised to deliver an unforgettable spectacle.

Quadri Aruna, Africa’s sole representative at the WTT Star Contender Bangkok, is set to clash with Japanese player Yukida Uda in the second round of the Men’s Singles in Thailand.

Aruna, rated as the number four seed by the organizers, has a history with Uda, having narrowly defeated him 4-3 in a closely contested match at the Hong Kong Open in 2018.

Uda, already fired up after his victory against Portugal’s Joao Monteiro (3-2) in the first round and poses a formidable challenge for Aruna. 

In his previous outing at the WTT Star Contender in Slovenia, Aruna  lost to another Japanese star, Sora Matsushima.But he remains motivated as he looks ahead to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, scheduled to begin later this month in France.

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Beyond aiming for his first WTT title, Aruna is determined to accumulate ranking points that will elevate his status when the draws for the Paris Olympic Games Men’s Singles are announced.

As the 2024 Africa Cup champion, he aims to surpass his quarterfinal finish from Rio 2016 and become the first African player to reach the podium at the Olympic Games.

The tournament boasts a total prize pool of $250,000, with 600 ITTF World Ranking Points awarded to the champions. Defending champions Lin Gaoyuan and Chen Xingtong of China, who secured the triple crown in the 2023 edition, will be eager to retain their titles.

Notably absent from the Chinese contingent heading to the Paris Olympics, Lin and Chen will strive to amass points for future tournaments.

After missing the WTT Contender in Lagos and Tunis last month, Quadri Aruna is back in action at the WTT Star Contender Bangkok 2024 in Thailand.

 As one of the top seeds in the men’s singles, the Nigerian aims to bolster his ranking points ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Currently ranked 16th  by the International Table Tennis Federation(ITTF), Aruna could secure a spot among the top 16 seeds in the Men’s Singles at the Olympics as only two of the five top-ranked Chinese players will compete in Paris.

Joining Aruna is Canada’s Edward Ly, whose meteoric rise from beyond the Top 300 to World No. 36 within a year is a remarkable story. Ly’s 2024 journey includes his WTT Champions debut and continued ascent in the rankings.

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Local athletes Napat Thanmathikom and Phakpoom Sanguansin, both wildcards, are set to make their WTT Series main draw debut in front of home fans.

 Meanwhile, Jinnipa Sawettabut, with 10 WTT Series appearances this ranking period, seeks a breakthrough after entering the Top 100 in March.

Aruna stands out as the sole African star competing against a star-studded lineup in Bangkok. The $250,000 prize money tournament at Huamark Indoor Stadium promises intense competition, with 600 ITTF World Ranking Points up for grabs.

As the fourth of five Star Contender events in 2024, Bangkok sets the stage for world-class table tennis in the Land of Smiles.