New African men’s singles champion, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri, has said his feat at the just concluded International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Top 16 will be a turning point in his career.
Aruna Quadri
The reign of Egypt as African champion came to an abrupt end when Quadri dethroned the defending champion, Egypt’s El-Sayed Lashin, in the final of the Africa Top 16 Cup.
Aside beating Lashin, Quadri also dismissed the continent’s highest ranked player, Egypt’s Omar Assar, on his way to the epic final against Lashin.
“I played very well in the match because most of my matches with were always been very close,” said a delighted Quadri after beating Assar.
“I did not make the same mistakes I made at the World Tour; I made sure I played shots whenever possible. This victory means a lot to me, and it is the beginning of a new era in my career because it will surely improve my ranking,” he said.
For more than 20 minutes, Assar was glued to his seat after suffering a 4-2 defeat from Quadri in the semifinal tie of the tournament.
Buoyed by the 4-1 win over Quadri in the semi-final stage of the ITTF Lagos World Tour, Assar was probably sure that he would overcome the Nigerian.
But his permutation and logic were proved wrong when he suffered one of the biggest defeats in his career against Quadri.
However, the final encounter to decide the player that will hoist Africa’s flag at the ITTF World Cup later this year was the climax of the tournament.
Fans at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium ensured that Quadri did not lack in support, cheering every point the Nigerian won against the Egyptian.
Lashin and Quadri had met five times with the Egyptian winning all the matches. But that game was a different story entirely, as Quadri gave the fans something to cheer with his superb performance against his opponent. At the end, Quadri carried the day with a 4-3 win.
In the women’s final, Egypt’s dominance over Nigeria continued as 20-year-old Dina Meshref defeated Nigeria’s Funke Oshonaike 4-0 to win the sole slot to the ITTF World Cup.
“It was not an easy match, but I was so happy winning,” said Meshref. “I am excited to represent Africa at the World Cup and I hope I can win a medal there.”
Quadri and Meshref have qualified for the World Cup tournaments to be held later this year.