Africa’s number one table tennis player, Aruna Quadri, looks to win his first title since 2018 at the ongoing 2022 ITTF Senior Championship in Algeria.
Speaking to the tournament’s official website ahead of the Men’s Singles round of 16, 4-0 of Egypt’s Mohamed Shouman, the world number 15 said he was motivated by the fact that he is representing Nigeria and that he would give his heart and soul as usual for his country.
“I haven’t won the African Championship since my last one in 2018, but I have played in all finals since then. It will be good to win a title this year, and I’m looking forward to giving my best. My biggest motivation is that I’m representing Nigeria again, and I want to give my heart and soul as usual for my country,” said Quadri, who earlier today thrashed his Egyptian opponents 13-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.
It was a fruitful day for Nigeria in the men’s singles as Taiwo Mati and Olajide Omotayo also secured convincing wins. The former came back from a set down to defeat Salim Karam 4-1 (7-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-6, 11-7), while the latter secured the same margin of victory against Ange-Aime Kouassi of Ivory Coast, dropping only the second set to win (11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-6).
Quadri competed in the 2018 ITTF African Cup, placing first in Group 2, allowing him to qualify for the Quarter Finals. In the Quarter-Finals, Aruna defeated Derek Abrefa (4-0). In the semi-finals, he defeated Ahmed Saleh (4-1), allowing him to advance to the finals of the African Cup, where he defeated Egyptian rival Omar Assar to win the title.