Richard Ofori

Thank you Table Tennis United

Thank You #TableTennisUnited

The year 2020 started like any other year. A year in which athletes were preparing for the biggest sporting event in the world, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

However, every activity had to be brought to a halt due to the Novel Coronavirus. Associations affiliated with the International Table Tennis Association(ITTF) had to cancel their programs. This brought untold hardship to players of the sport.

In order to help our communities cope with the new normal #TableTennisUnited decided to intervene with stimulus packages for the Table Tennis community.

As a result we at GH. Table Tennis applied for support from #TableTennisUnited for one of our budding talents, Richard Ofori, who is a junior national Table Tennis player in Ghana who needs support to enable him to reach his fullest potential.

We were pleasantly surprised when we received a response from #TableTennisUnited. They provided training kits, which comprised of canvas, jersey, tracksuit, and rubbers.

A delighted Richard Ofori thank #TableTennisUnited, and this is what he had to say:

 

“Thank you #TableTennisUnited for making my dream come true”

 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people who provide help to Richard Ofori.

  • Mr. Adolf Awotwe who discovered Richard Ofori and became his coach and trainer.
  • Mr. Elliot Agyare the C.E.O of Smartline Publishing Limited who made it possible for Richard Ofori to use the EMEF’s training centre.
  • Mr. Joseph Amoabeng the mentor of Richard Ofori.
  • The Monday Special crew of Nungua, whom he plays the game with every Monday evening.
 We at GH. Table Tennis would wish to thank #TableTennisUnited for their immense support during this period of hardship and we promise to also do our part to help promote the game.
Richard Ofori
Richard Ofori - 2 Rank U15 player in Ghan

Felix Lartey wins LYTTC Gaint Round Robin September Table Tennis Opens(U2500 RR-Playoff)

Felix Lartey dominates in the USA

Felix Lartey - 3 Time SWAG Table Tennis Award Winner

Ghana’s 3 time SWAG Table Tennis award winner dominates in Westchester, United States of America, where he is currently on a training tour.

Felix Lartey won the September LYTTC Giant RR September Open in the U2500 rating. The LYTTC Giant RR tournament is a USATT Sanctioned tournament which was played in the under 1900 and over 1900 category, with the winners taking home USD 200.00 and USD 500 respectively.

Felix Lartey a member of the black loopers competed in the over 1900 category which had thirty four (34) registered players. The players where categorised into four (4) groups, with each group comprising of 8 players. Felix Lartey was in Group 1 which had the likes of Alex Averin, Kelly Liang, Ainish Dassarma, Suman Saurabh, Steve Hopkins, Preston Stecklein, Gaelan Mullins and Rafi Hosein.

With his abled coach, a former black looper Courage Nenevi in his corner, Felix won all seven matches in the group stage, to qualify for the top 16 stage where he played and beat Lucy Leing. Richard Dewitt was his opponent in the quarter final stage whom he defeated to advance into the semi final. 

 

Jayden Zhou a Chinese American was his opponent in the semi final stage. Jayden is a highly rated junior player who plays for the junior national Table Tennis team of the USA. The budding talent was no match for the vastly experienced Felix Lartey, the match ended in three games to zero (3 – 0) in favour of Felix Lartey.

The final game was one, which was won, based on the desire and determination from Felix to be a champion of the tournament. Gregg Bartz a former USA Table Tennis national player was the player who stood between him and victory.

The determination of Gregg was evident from the start of the match, he led by two games to one (2 – 1) and needing only a game to win the tournament, which was a best of five encounter. However Felix had other ideas he fought in the fourth game to level the match at two games all. 

With Gregg ruining his missed opportunity, Felix dominated in the fifth and final game to win the September edition of the LYTTC Giant RR USA Sanctioned open tournament.

He was rewarded with a huge trophy and congratulatory words from Mr. William Shortz of Westchester, who was pleased with his performance and edged him to train even harder for the upcoming tournaments.

A delighted Felix Lartey thanked the Ghana Immigration Service where he works for the opportunity given, he also thanked the Westchester Table Tennis Centre for allowing him to undertake his training tour with them and finally to the Ghana Table Tennis Association for making the training tour possible. 

From us at GH. Table Tennis we say “AYIKOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Aruna Quadri’s uncommon qualities stand him out, says Oshodi

Aruna Quadri’s uncommon qualities stand him out, says Oshodi

Wahid Enitan Oshodi and Aruna Quadri

For more than 15 years, Wahid Enitan Oshodi has been supporting Aruna Quadri in his quest to be among the top table tennis players in the world. Oshodi, a former President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and the Chairman of ITTF Nomination Committee believes upcoming athletes need to take a cue from Quadri who has remained humble despite his rising profile.

How did you meet Aruna Quadri?

I met Aruna at the Abeokuta 2006 National Sports Festival. I was Chairman of Lagos State Table Tennis Association (LSTTA) then. It was a festival which allowed Professional athletes compete and in the table tennis event the Legend himself Segun Toriola was captaining a star filled Ogun State team including Bode Kayode, Lanre Aremu and Kazeem Makanjuola who had been members of the Lagos team but decamped to the host state Ogun. Having lost many players we took a young team made up of secondary school students from Lagos to gain experience. But the cynosure of all eyes was the very young mostly unknown boys’ team from Oyo State. They had a fantastic Coach and played with such skill and determination but lost the men’s finals narrowly with Toriola’s experience coming to the fore. Aruna Quadri was one of the young boys and I introduced myself to them and started inviting them to Lagos to play in tournaments and train with our Coaches.

What attracted you to him?

I think it was the fact that he was so very humble and he seemed so determined to do well. He wanted to move to Lagos to further his education at University of Lagos and this was a bit unusual for most table tennis players who just wanted to earn some money. His humility and the respect he showed to everyone around was so good to see. I remember even my coaches grumbled a bit about us helping him because he was not from Lagos and couldn’t represent us but I wanted the best players playing in my events and so I helped in ensuring he moved to Lagos for school and to help develop his game. At that time we had tournaments fortnightly and we brought the best players from all over Nigeria and even those who were abroad joined in when they came home for holidays.

What makes Quadri a unique athlete?

Humility and the hunger to be the best. Most top athletes have these qualities but in Quadri I found a player who had an extraordinary amount of belief that he would make it to the top and become a national team player.  Every time he lost in our events he came back stronger. Always willing to put in the work to learn and better himself across all spheres. Table tennis, school and life. He just wanted to keep improving. He always wanted to know how he could improve himself. He always bounced back from every setback and never got carried away with his success. He was not the most talented athlete of his age group but he was the most determined. Nigeria has so many vastly talented and gifted athletes but most of them just can’t couple the necessary hard work and discipline to take them to the top of their sport. Quadri has a bucket-full of those important qualities.

How will you describe the rise of Quadri from obscurity to fame?

For a player who was not such a great junior player his latter development was outstanding. He wanted to go on the Professional tour and needed a bit of help with the costs but I didn’t think he was that good then but a couple of people prevailed on me and I got a group of friends and table tennis lovers together who helped him. His first few trips ended in him getting beaten soundly but he would come back home very sad but very determined to do better and soon enough even I started seeing the improvements and the qualities that have made him a great champion now. In my first interview when I became President of NTTF I told the journalists that Quadri then ranked 500+ in the world would be a top 200 player within three years. Twelve months later he was in the top 100. Pure hard work and the support of his major sponsors Baba Ijebu Sports Bet also helped greatly. Then he moved to Portugal and with better coaching and facilities his improvement defensively and powerful attack shocked the table tennis world. The most powerful forehand in the modern game drove him to African cups, Portuguese titles, World Cup quarter finals, Professional tour titles and his performances at Rio 2016 beating Timo Boll, probably the greatest player outside China, set him aside as a superstar. His Powerful attacking style of play has endeared him to table tennis fans all over the world. We have had great table tennis players Like Atanda (Mansa) Musa, Kasali Lasisi, Segun Toriola and many more but Quadri seems to have taken the best attributes of these great players. Musa and Kasali’s exciting entertaining styles coupled Toriola’s hard work and discipline. He always wants to learn from the best. The reaction he gets from crowds and the way he lights up venues all over the world is such a delight to see. That’s what has made him the modern day sports and entertaining superstar he is. In 2019 Watching Quadri at the Teslim Balogun Stadium when he defended his Nigeria Open title before the fanatical Lagos crowd was one of the greatest spectacles of modern day sport in Nigeria. To be a top 20 ranked player in a sport like table tennis dominated by Asians and Europeans is no mean feat.  He is a pride to Nigeria and Africa. Our country needs to show more pride in him.

How far do you think Quadri will go?

I believe Quadri is a top 10 player. He is one of the few players in the world who has the class to win a World or Olympic title. If he has a good run in any tournament he could win it. He just needs to focus properly and he can do it as he has shown. He is capable of beating anybody in the world and he is now proving that consistently. The top players are always nervous because of his relentlessly powerful forehand and now that he has added a great defence and reliable backhand to his game I think we would soon see him in the top 10. His move to Germany, the premier league of world table tennis will also ensure he continues to progress. More sponsors are now making overtures to him and the financial stability that comes with being a top player will also help him keep his focus. Quadri is already a table tennis great but more importantly his performances are opening doors for a lot of talented young gifted Nigerian and African players. Professional table tennis is now a career choice for many due to his achievements.

What lessons can others learn from his story?

There is no shortcut to lasting success. Patience, hard work, discipline and respect for your sport and your body allied to talent will lead to the top. Quadri is at the top of world table tennis now coming a long way from Oyo. It is because he had managed to stay true to those simple qualities. Bouncing back every time you fail and keeping your focus on the prize is the way to success.

SOURCE : Nigerian Table Tennis Federation

TTC tips Aruna as top five performers in German Bundesliga

TTC tips Aruna in top five performers in German Bundesliga

Aruna Quadri

Having scanned through the records Quadri Aruna had set in the last six years, the President of TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell (TTC) Stefan Frauenholz could not but tipped the Nigerian to be among the top five performers in the 2020/2021 Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) season. 

Quadri who replaced departed TTC top performer Croat Tomislav Pucar, is hoping to lead the team to top four target set by the management of the team. 

The newcomer will “be among the five best Bundesliga players. In Fulda, however, Aruna also has big footsteps to fill in. After all, Tomislav Pucar left the TTC for Russia after two extremely successful years,” Frauenholz said. 

This weekend on Sunday September 6, Aruna will lead TTC away to TSV Bad Königshofen who will be playing without their performers following COVID-19 scare in the team. 

TSV Bad Königshofen started as a contender for the play-offs last season but they were unfortunate to finish in ninth place.

For the new season, the squad seems to be a bit weaker than last year, at least on paper following the exit Japanese Mizuki Oikawa, a top performer from previous years. 

With the signing of Frenchman Abdel-Kader Salifou, a former player with TTC Neu-Ulm last season, the club believes Salifou is a good match for Bad Königshofen, as his new teammate Bastian Steger had already explained when he introduced the Frenchman. 

“He’s a fighter with a great attitude who never loses a sentence. Our viewers will like that, especially since he has a very attractive style of play and an extremely strong forehand. ” 

However, the team will depend all the more on Kilian Ort’s fitness level as the 24-year-old was forced to watch for a long time last season Final placement of Bad Königshofen. 

Bad Königshofen will continue to be led by Bastian Steger, who at 39 years of age is still guaranteed points.