Nigerian Quadri Aruna is the first African player to get to the round of 16 of the World Table Tennis Championship finals after defeating India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (11-9, 7-11, 13-15, 11-3, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7) in a dramatic fashion in America, Owosports.com.ng reports.
Quadri Aruna won the first set 11-9, before losing 7-11 and 13-15 in the second and third sets, He then took the fourth set 11-3, while Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won the fifth 11-4.
The African number one ranked then prove his class, as he took the final two sets 11-9, 11-7 to advance to the next round.
Quadri speaking after the victory revealed how nervous and shaking he was during the game but expressed excitement at how he was able to manage the situation to get the win which saw him picking one of the round of 16 slot of the championship.
“I was shaking from the beginning to the end and I couldn’t understand why. I knew I could win or I could lose. I was not really comfortable with the way I played. But I’m really happy I won. It means a lot for Africa and Nigeria that I’m the first African to make it to the Round of 16. I’m proud of myself,” said Quadri Aruna
Quadri who is the only African remaining in the men’s singles would be playing in the last 16 of the World Championships for the first time after the previous 3rd round exit in Hungary.
