Izuchukwu Okosi
Africa Tennis champion, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri has joined Saudi Arabia side, Khaleej Table Tennis Club, following his impressive outing at the 2023 ITTF African Championship where he won gold in Tunisia.
Quadri successfully retained his title in the men’s singles after beating Ahmed Saleh of Egypt in the final match which inadvertently drew the attention of suitors keen to sign him.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAruna, who is the tournament’s number one seed, sidestepped Saleh in the final clash with a convincing 4-0 win to hold on to the title he won last year (2022) in Algeria.
There were mixed feelings for Aruna in Tunis, having missed the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ticket through injury at the same venue.
“I am happy with the title because I have a good and bad memory of Tunis, having got injured here during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualification.
“Winning another title here is good to erase the bad memory.
“This win will remain with me for a long time. I am happy and I look forward to the next challenge,” the Nigerian told the media
The 35-years-old Nigerian is the first African player to be ranked top 10 in the world, 2022
At the World Cup 2014, he reached the quarter-finals in the Men’s Singles competition.
READ ALSO: Quadri Retains Status As Africa’s Sole Player In Top 20 World Ranking
In the 2017 ITTF World Challenge Bulgaria Open, he advanced to the semi-finals, where he was defeated in a tight match by the eventual winner Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
Aruna is known for his forehand-oriented playing style, which won him several titles.
In 2014, he was ranked number 30 in world table tennis, and the International Table Tennis Federation named him the Star Player of the year. He was also part of the Nigerian team that won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
At the club level, Aruna Quadri recently teamed up with TTC RhönSprudel Maberzell Fulda, a top club in the German Bundesliga Table Tennis.
The African champion had played professional tennis in Portugal, Germany and Russian leagues.
