Nigeria’s table tennis star Aruna Quadri is delighted with his new position in the ITTF ranking, reports Pnosports.com.
Aruna gained four steps up in the ranking to be rated 13th in the latest ITTF ranking being the first by an African.
Being the biggest movers among the top 20 players in the world, Aruna has continued to raise the bar for other African players to emulate with his superlative performance at major competitions which has also earned him a place among the top 20 players invited for the 2021 World Table Tennis (WTTF) Cup Finals scheduled for December 4 to 7 in Singapore.
It would be recalled that Aruna recently made history as the first African to reach the quarter-final stage at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, Texas, United States of America.
“I am so excited to improve my world ranking, and this means I must work hard to remain on top in the world,” an excited said after the ranking was released.
“This is another task I must face in my career, and I will not relent to do my best as I look forward to the WTTF Cup Finals taking place this weekend in Singapore.”
For the President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) Ishaku Tikon, the latest feat achieved by Aruna would surely motivate other upcoming players to work harder.
“We are so excited that within one week, Aruna has set two African records as the first to reach the quarterfinal of the World Championships as well as the first African to be ranked 13th in the world.
“This for us as a federation means we must find another Aruna who can exceed what he has done. Our focus remains the cadet and junior and we are going to ensure we organize tournaments and expose them to international competitions.
“I must also commend Aruna for his conduct within and outside the table because he has shown to be a good ambassador of the sport and we hope to compliment this feat by ensuring we unearth more Arunas,” Tikon said.
