The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ITTF World Cup

  • Quadri  vows to revenge in ETTU Champions League

    Quadri  vows to revenge in ETTU Champions League

    After losing to world number seven, Japan’s Jun Mizutani in the round of 16 of the ITTF World Cup, Aruna Quadri has admitted that the Japanese star did not give him a breathing space in the encounter.

    Quadri who finished second in Group A to advance to the main draw of the tournament believes that he can avenge the loss when both players meet against this week at the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Champions League.

    “I was actually praying to avoid Ma Long in the main draw of the competition; I never knew that Mizutani was going to be difficult. I was actually ready for him but he did not give me any breathing space at all as he was all over me. I think he was too much for me to handle. I hope when we meet against this week in ETTU Champions League, I will try and trouble him as well,” Quadri said.

    The 2017 Polish Open champion, however, said that with the performance of Omar Assar and himself at the tournament, they have been able to prove that Africa is no pushover in the sport.

    “Two of us came from Africa into this competition and we were able to qualify to the main draw and I think this has got to show that Africa is improving. Making the main draw is no child’s play because for any player that featured in the competition as it is only the top best across the globe that competed. We played well and we a good account of ourselves. Also we lost to top seven players in the world. I think this is indeed a new dawn for Africa and we must capitalize on this rare opportunity to make the game more vibrant in the continent,” Quadri added

  • Quadri, Assar get opponents for ITTF World Cup

    Quadri, Assar get opponents for ITTF World Cup

  • Aruna reigns over Omar Assar at ITTF Africa Cup

    Aruna reigns over Omar Assar at ITTF Africa Cup

    The years of domination by Egypt’s Omar Assar over Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri came to an on Monday, July 3 at the 2017 ITTF Africa Cup in Agadir, Morocco, as the Nigerian dug deep to beat his continental rival 4-3 to emerge as the champion in the men’s singles.

    Also, the victory qualifies Aruna Quadri to this year’s ITTF World Cup, being the second consecutive time the Nigerian will be representing Africa at the global stage.

    Despite playing without any coach, Aruna Quadri knew what was at stake in the encounter and he was calm and collected throughout the match to have an edge over the Egyptian.

    Even when he was losing vital points, Aruna Quadri showed class and even the spectators applauded the Nigerian for his conduct and professionalism during the encounter.

    To emerge as the new African Champion, Aruna Quadri defeated Omar Assar 4-3 and this Nigerian believes luck worked for him in the encounter.

    “I am so happy today that I won because it was not an easy match. I am happy that my backhand worked well in the match because I was afraid to use it against my friend – Omar Assar whom I know was in his best form this time. I think Omar Assar played and that it was just luck, today because sometimes luck plays a crucial role in matches,” Aruna Quadri told NationSport after his victory.

    The Vice President of African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Olabanji Oladapo who watched the final, described Aruna Quadri as a true ambassador of Nigeria who needs more support now.

    “I am so proud of Aruna Quadri and Funke Oshonaike because they played without coach against the Egyptians who had their coaches with them. They made the country proud and the match between Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar was highly technical and this goes to show that we need good and quality coach to handle our players because having played good players without coach and won, it is obvious that we need a more experienced coach to handle our top players. I am so proud and all my colleagues in ATTF congratulated me,” Oladapo said.

  • ITTF W/Cup: Quadri unfazed by setbacks in Germany

    ITTF W/Cup: Quadri unfazed by setbacks in Germany

    Aruna Quadri has taken his early exit at the just concluded ITTF World Cup in good faith while remaining optimistic that the defeat would affect his dream of progressing in his career.

    The 2014 ITTF Star Player was beaten by Sweden’s Par Gerell 4-2 and Singapore’s Gao Ning to miss out of the second round of the third most prestigious tournament in the ITTF Calendar.

    But a determined Quadri told NationSport before his departure to Portugal from Germany yesterday that the defeat has taught him to continue to work harder.

    “I think my performance at the World Cup was not too bad because I really gave a good fight but I was not lucky enough to go out of the group. I had chances which I failed to utilize and this really cost me the two losses. Before the tournament, I really worked harder but sometimes you don’t get the results of hard work immediately of which I believed that better days are ahead. I have given my whole ability in Germany and I hope to bounce back positively in subsequent tournaments.

    “It is true that the results in Germany will affect my world ranking but I am not bothered about the ranking as there are more events in future which I could amass points to shore up my world rating again as I will keep working hard,”  he said.

    However, Quadri is still bothered that despite his rising profile globally based on his quarterfinal berth at the Rio Olympic Games, the Ministry of Sports has not deemed it fit to support his career.

  • ITTF World Cup: Sweden, France halt Germany’s ambition

    ITTF World Cup: Sweden, France halt Germany’s ambition

    THE host nation, Germany were dumped out of the ongoing ITTF World Cup as the duo of Ovtchharov Dimitrij and Steger Bastian were shown the exit in the round of 16 by France’s Simon Gauzy and Sweden’s Karlsson Kristian.

    The defeat suffered by Ovtchharov might not be as painful as the one experienced by Steger as he narrowly lost to the Frenchman.

    As the third ranked player in the competition, Ovtchharov was taken to the cleaner by the aggressive Swedish Karlsson, who wasted no time in silencing the fans at the venue of the championship.

    Even in the seventh game, the coast was clear for Steger to finish up the encounter when he was leading 10-8, only four points to hand the victory to the Frenchman. It was a defeat too hard to bear for the fans as the silence pervaded the hall with  disappointment written over the face of the fans.

    This means Germany will not be playing in the last eight of the championship as its representatives have been shown the exit in the last 16 and this is the first time the Germans will not be playing in the last eight of the championship.

    A bemused Steger told Sportinglife after the encounter,  “So many people asked me what went wrong for me in the match but I told them that it happened and it can happen to anybody. When I was leading 10-7 in the sixth game and 3-2 up, I just focused on getting the final point. Even when it was 10-8 in the seventh game in my favour, I wanted to get the last point. I was focused but today was just his day and it can go either way. I am satisfied with my performance in this competition because I played perfectly in the group matches and I also played very well in the round of 16,”he said.

  • Aruna Quadri bows out of ITTF World Cup

    Aruna Quadri bows out of ITTF World Cup

    ARUNA Quadri was shown the exit in the first round at the 2016 ITTF World Cup holding in Saarbrucken, Germany.

    The African champion who was fans favourite, lost his two matches to become the first casualty at the three-day $150,000 prize money tournament.

    In his first group match against Sweden’s Par Gerell, Quadri’s inability to return the Swedish service was his undoing as most of the points garnered by the European star came through services. But it was the Swedish star that had the upper hand winning 4-2 to dent Quadri’s rising status in Germany.

    A disappointed Quadri said after the match, “It was a very difficult match for me because I could not cope with his service and this made me to be running all about. This also made me tired. He played much better than I did and I look forward to the second match.”

    However, what would have been another opportunity for Quadri to bring himself back into the competition became a hard nut to crack for the Oyo State-born star as his dream of repeating his 2014 feat was shattered by ageing Singapore’s Gao Ning.

    A satisfied Quadri told NationSport after his surprise exit: “I gave my best but I made a lot of mistakes during crucial stage. I think he is more experienced than I do and that experience really worked for him.

    “I was also unlucky to have missed many chances; I knew that it was going to be 50-50 against him because I wanted to kill every match but I kissed so many opportunities especially having won the first two games.

  • ITTF World Cup: Quadri gets Singapore, Sweden opponents

    ITTF World Cup: Quadri gets Singapore, Sweden opponents

    Nigeria’s flagbearer in the 2016 ITTF World Cup, Aruna Quadri, was on Friday handed tough first round opponents in the shape of Singapore’s Ning Gao and Sweden’s Par Gerell

    In the draw conducted in Saarbrucken, Germany, 12 players will vie for eight slots in the second round where they are expected to battle the top eight seeded players.

    A confident Quadri told NationSport that he would give his best in the competition as his opponents are experienced campaigners.

    He said, “My opponents are not pushovers as they are champions in their own right. I respect them but I am not under any kind of pressure to play in Germany again. I am now getting used to playing under pressure and as a matter of fact I am going to Germany to enjoy myself without any kind of pressure.

    “Statistics showed that I am not one of the favourites for the podium finish but similarly I am not really going to be playing without confidence as I always believe strongly in my capability.

    “I am praying for a favourable draw and if God answer my prayer, I believe that I can surprise the world again.”

  • Aruna Quadri to represent Africa at ITTF World Cup

    Aruna Quadri to represent Africa at ITTF World Cup

    For the third time, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri will be representing Africa at the ITTF World Cup after the 2014 ITTF Star Player defeated his arch-rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar 4-1 to win the 2016 ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup in Sudan.

    Quadri who has been playing second fiddle to the Egyptian in their four last meetings was in fine form in the final of the men’s singles with a 11-8,8-11,7-11,6-11,9-11 victory over the North African. This win will make it the third time Quadri will be participating in the ITTF World Cup. His maiden outing was in 2009 in Russia while in 2014 in Dusseldorf, Germany he stunned the world with his performance which shot him to the top 30 in the world.

    The win over Assar will surely rub off on the world ranking of Quadri who is at present rated 37 while Assar is 32.

    In the women’s event, Egypt’s Dina Meshref returns to the ITTF World Cup after beating Congo Brazzaville’s Han Xing 4-1 to emerge as champion.

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  • 2014 ITTF World Cup: Quadri gets Japanese, Russian opponents

    2014 ITTF World Cup: Quadri gets Japanese, Russian opponents

    Africa’s representative at the 2014 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cup, Aruna Quadri has been pitched against Japan’s Kenta Matsudaira and Russia’s Alexander Shibaev in group D of the first round of the championship, which serves off today at the ISS Dome in Dusseldorf, Germany.

    In the draw conducted at the conference room of ISS Dome, Quadri, who is rated 73 in the world, will begin his campaign for a place in the second round on table two against the Japanese who is ranked 27 in the world.

    In his second match of the group today as well, the African champion will take on his familiar foe and world number 37, Russia’s Shibaev on table two this evening to decide the two players from the group that will advance to the main draw scheduled for tomorrow.

    The youngest player of the tournament, United States’ Kanak Jha has been handed a tough draw as the young American ranked 423 in the world will tackle world number 22, Chinese Taipei’s Chien-An Chen and Romania’s Adrian Crisan rated 28 in the world in group c.

    12 players were drawn into four groups of three players in each group with the top two in each group progressing to the knockout stage against the world top eight with the draw holding tomorrow.

    A confident Quadri told Nationsport after the draw that he was sure of progressing to the next round having defeated the Russian at the Czech Open in August.

    “I think the pressure will be on the Russian player because he is ranked higher than me in the world and he will be playing under pressure to be able to avenge the loss he suffered during the Czech Open. I am sure that I will give my best against him. Against the Japanese, I think it is going to be nobody’s game because he is not an attacking player because I had lost against the two Japanese I had played against as they were both attackers.

    But against Kenta, I will ensure that I match him strength for strength being the first group game for me. I am still hopeful that I will qualify from the group,” Quadri said.

    Quadri will be tutored by the German coach, Martin Adomeit, who was engaged by kits company, Joola to handle the Nigerian at the championship.