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•Nigerian drops one spot in World Rankings
By Rasaq Oboirien
Tokyo 2020 Olympics and World champion, Ma Long says African table tennis king, Aruna Quadri’s forehand is as good as his backhand, as the Nigerian did put pressure on him.
The Nigerian lost the Men’s Single Round of 32 game at WTT Championship in Macao 3-1 to the Chinese on Tuesday at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion.
Ma “The Dragon” emerged as the winner in the hard-fought match 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8), to make it a back-to-back Round of 32 defeat for Quadri, who also lost in Xinxiang.
Speaking after his match with Quadri. “I think it was a very tough match. I was more active in the first game, but we were very close in the last three games, especially in the third and fourth games.”
“The overall strength of the opponent, including the quality of his play, really put a lot of pressure on me. People always say Aruna has a really good forehand, but today I think his backhand is really good as well,” he added.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t a good one for Quadri who dropped one spot in ITTF Table Tennis World Rankings.
Week 16 of the ITTF Table Tennis World Rankings were out on Tuesday and the reshuffle continues at the top of the pecking order.
Quadri, who’s Africa’s No.1 rated table tennis player, dropped from 11 to 12th with 1,935 points.
April is a massive month for the WTT Series, meaning players have big opportunities to make some serious moves.
The first of two WTT Champions events have been played out and the result is two star-name athletes have struck a new high on the ladder.
