Monthly Archives: October 2020

Aruna Quadri has been leading TTC RhönSprudel Maberzell Fulda in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) and the 32-year-old is yet to find his feet in the league and the Nigerian promises that with the return of the spectators, he hopes to raise his game. The Nigerian will compete in the ITTF Restart Tournaments next month and he promises to be a good ambassador.

Q1. You will travel to China to play a World Cup tournament (November 13-15 in Weihai) and the ITTF finals (November 19-22 in Zheng). What are your goals?

“My goals are always the same: I want to improve my performance and be a good ambassador for my country, my sponsors, and my club”

Q2. The Olympic Games in Tokyo, which have been postponed by a year, are on the agenda for the coming year. That would be her third. Do you believe in an event?

“In the current situation, hardly anything can be planned. Of course, the Olympic Games are something special. But health and safety come first.” 

Q3. You are 32 years old. How long do you want to continue practicing your sport as a professional?

“I hope for a few more years. I will continue to play table tennis as long as my body allows it and my performance is good.”

 Q4. Why do you find it so difficult against opponents who are far behind you in the world rankings?

“It is still very difficult for me to adapt to the level of play in Germany. But I firmly believe that I will be able to do that very soon. The Bundesliga is really strong and challenging. I think the chance of winning is always around 50:50. One shortcoming was certainly having to play some games without spectators, like in Bad Königshofen and Düsseldorf. That is not satisfactory for me; the morale was not the same as in an audience game. Spectators are very important to me, which is an additional incentive for me.”

Q5. Is there a big difference between Bundesliga games and international tournaments?

“The Bundesliga and international tournaments are very similar. The level of play is very high here.”

Q6. Your weapon is the forehand. Your weak point is the backhand. The opponents use this consistently. How can you solve the dilemma?

“I am working very hard to become even more variable and I am confident that I am on the right track. I’m looking forward to doing my best for the team.”

Aruna Quadri lived up to expectations in his first season in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) as the Nigerian saved his team TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell from the brink of defeat to beat reigning champions FC Saarbrücken 3-2 at the weekend.

The visitors were on their way to emphatic win but Quadri’s display changed the tone of the game for the home team as his win against Darko Jorgic 3- 0 (11- 5, 11- 9, 11- 2) was what gave TTC hope of a comeback.

Earlier, Ruwen Filus and Fan Bo Meng have both suffered 3-0 (5-11, 6-11, 10-12) and 3-1 (7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 9-11) to Patrick Franziska and Shang Kun respectively.

However, it was the win by the Nigerian superstar that motivated the comeback of TTTC against the star-studded visitors.

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 Olympic Games.

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 and coaches 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 thanked #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.