Monthly Archives: November 2021

In less than four days after setting an African record as the first player to reach the quarter-final stage at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships, Quadri Aruna has set another African record following the release of the latest ITTF ranking on Tuesday, November 30.

The Nigerian was ranked 17 in the world before the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships held in Houston, Texas, in the United States, and based on the feat in Houston, Aruna gained four steps up in the ranking to be rated 13^th in the 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.

An excited Aruna said after the ranking was released it meant more work for him.

“I am so excited to improve my world ranking, and this means I must work hard to remain on top in the world. 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 13^th 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 on 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 complement this feat by ensuring we unearth more Arunas,” Tikon said.

2021 World Championships runner’s Truls Moregard of Sweden has become the biggest mover on the latest ITTF ranking as the 19-year-old moved from 77^th spot to 31^st in the ranking, while newly crowned world champion Fan Zhendong of China held on to the top spot in the ranking.  

Following the feat achieved by Quadri Aruna at the 2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships held in Houston, Texas, the United States, the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) has described the Nigerian as a trailblazer in table tennis.

 Aruna has continued to exceed expectations with his performance at major international competitions and this was also displayed in Houston when he became the first Nigerian and African to make it to the quarter-final stage in the history of the world championships.

 The Nigerian was named the World Table Tennis Player in 2014, later became the first African to reach the quarter-final stage at the Olympic Games and ITTF World Cup, and in Houston, he set a new African record as the first African player to make it to the last eight in the history of the ITTF World Championships.

 The 33-year-old two-time Nigeria Open champion has been hailed for his conduct on and off the table during the Houston tournament which put the continent on the world table tennis map.

 Speaking through its President, Khaled El-Salhy, ATTF said Aruna has continually broken the barrier for African players with his outstanding performance that has continued to inspire a lot of players across the globe.

“I am so proud of the super performance of Quadri Aruna here in 2021 WTTC – Houston. He is always breaking the records. And as one of the top African players participating in the World Championships, he reached the Quarter Final stage for the first time by any player from Africa. He is always working hard to improve himself and he has the quality to compete against world top stars in any major competition,” he said.

 He added: “Aruna is a table tennis icon for Africa and a good role model to all our young players to emulate.”

 Apart from Aruna’s feat, the ATTF boss described the city of Houston as a historic place for Africa with the elections of two African representatives – Wahid Oshodi of Nigeria and Alaa Meshref of Egypt as Executive Vice Presidents of ITTF. “Houston will remain a historical WTTC event for Africa after the great achievement at the AGM where Africa secured two slots in the ITTF Executive Committee (EC) and this was followed by the excellent result achieved by Quadri Aruna after reaching the quarter-final as the first African player.”

The city of Houston stood still for Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna on Friday, November 26, after the Nigerian became the first African to reach the quarterfinal in the history of the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals.

The Nigerian made his presence felt amidst the array of stars competing at the 2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals staged at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, United States.

Earlier on Thursday, Aruna had beaten the round of 32 records set in 2019 by Egypt’s duo of Omar Assar and Ahmed Saleh after he breezed into the round of 16. But late on Friday, November 26, he erased the record to set another one with a place in the quarterfinal of the championships.

The 2014 ITTF World Player of Year became the first Nigerian and player from the Africa continent to feature in the last eight at the World Table Tennis Championship after he defeated Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson 4-3 (11-9, 5-11, 13-11, 5-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6).

“It’s amazing. I had to dig deep and I gave everything I had. I’m excited about the quarter-final. I’ve been playing very well and the spirit of never giving up is always there,” said Aruna during a post-match interview.

The Nigerian is expected to confront another Swedish record-breaker Truls Moregard in the quarterfinal late on Saturday, November 27.

According to ITTF, players from Africa, Europe, North America, South America, and Asia are expected to continue lighting up the historical event which is being hosted in the Americas for the first time in its storied history. 

While the Asian and European players have not disappointed with their stellar performances, their challenges on the international stage are now continuously being challenged by emerging powerhouses from the rest of the world, making table tennis a genuinely global sport.

African table tennis continues to shine brightly after Aruna’s historic passage to the last eight at the World Table Tennis Championship. “It means a lot to me,” he said, “especially for Nigeria and the whole of Africa. Table tennis is growing very fast in Africa. Now we have several players in the Top 100,” said Aruna.

American Kanak Jha also proved he could match up to anyone on his day. The 21-year-old American is part of the new generation of up-and-coming stars destined to light up the competition in the table tennis world. He is the first man American player to reach this stage since 1959.

Although fellow Pan-American Adriana Diaz did not qualify for the quarterfinals, she achieved her best result during this World Championships by reaching the round of 16. The first female table tennis player to represent Puerto Rico on the Olympic stage hopes many will follow her path. “I want to move the sport forward, make more people play, and bring even more people to my sport,” she said after her match.

Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, who won his first international title at WTT Star Contender Doha in September and currently ranks number four, becomes the first-ever Brazilian to reach the quarterfinals.

While this year’s World Championships quarterfinals truly showcase the universality of table tennis, the ITTF will do its utmost to foster new initiatives and ultimately grow the sport worldwide.

In his usual style, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has again set a new African record at the 2021 ITTF World Championships taking place in Houston, Texas, United States after the former ITTF World Player of the Year qualified to the round of 16 of the Men’s Singles as the first African to achieve the feat.

It was Egypt’s Omar Assar and Ahmed Saleh that had the best record at the global tournament in Africa has made it to the round of 32 but with the performance of Nigeria in Houston, and the only African still competing in the Men’s Singles, Aruna inked new record after passing a litmus test against Indian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran.

Aruna earned his ticket to the Round of 16 following a breathtaking clash with the clever Indian star. Aruna and his opponent put everything into the encounter by exchanging explosive rallies throughout the contest.

Twice Gnanasekaran led, but the Nigerian caught up with and it was Aruna’s heart and desire that proved the difference in truly dramatic fashion. The 4-3 (11-9, 7-11, 13-15, 11-3, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7) win has again put Aruna on the history lane as the first African to reach the last 16 stages at the World Championships exceeding Egypt’s Omar Assar’s last 32 feats in 2019.

On Friday, November 26, the Nigerian will face Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson for a place in the last eight (quarterfinal) of the championships.
In continuation of what happened on Day Two, fourth seed Chinese Taipei superstar Lin Yun-Ju crashed out of the Men’s Singles draw following a pulsating head-to-head against Republic of Korea’s Lim Jonghoon.

Lin Yun-Ju ranked 55 positions higher than his opponent in the world entered the tie as the clear favorite but never really got going on table four.

Trailing 2-0 and then 3-1, fourth seed Lin courageously recovered back-to-back games to level the score at 3-3. Lin then held a match point opportunity in the deciding game, but it was Lim Jonghoon who threw his arms in the air in celebration at the end of the match to win 4-3 (11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 13-11).

The Secretary-General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Olabanji Oladapo has been reelected into the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Board of Directors (BoD) at the end of the annual general meeting (AGM) of the world body in Houston, Texas, United States.

Also, the President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Engr Ishaku Tikon, and NTTF Board member, CP Elderson Bankole have been appointed to the veteran and para commissions of ITTF.

Earlier, in the year at the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) held through virtual, Oladapo topped the list of eight candidates from Africa listed for ITTF BoD.

However, after the election of Executive Vice Presidents which produced Nigeria’s Wahid Enitan Oshodi as the candidate with the highest votes among the eight elected VP, the reelection of Oladapo and 31 others were ratified and confirmed by the Executive Committee (EC) of the world table tennis ruling body.

Tikon and Bankole nomination into the veterans and para commissions was confirmed at the end of the AGM late on Wednesday, November 24 by ITTF.

Tikon and Bankole with this appointment have become full members of the commissions and are expected to take an active part in their decision of the commissions.

Meanwhile, the President of ATTF, Khaled El-Salhy has hailed the election of Oshodi and Alaa Meshref of Egypt as Executive Vice Presidents of ITTF being a feat by the continent.

“It is a very honorable day for the Africa Table Tennis family, today Wednesday, November 24, 2021, as the continent got two slots in the highest ruling arm of ITTF Executive Committee for the first time in its history. Congratulations for Wahid Oshodi and Alaa Meshref and congratulations for the whole family of Table Tennis in our continent,” the ATTF chief said.

He added: “This is the second time in a row to show to everybody what Africa could achieve when it is united and fully supporting our representatives; as the first time was last year when we succeeded to support South Africa to win the bid to host 2023 WTTC in Durban, and this year to win two representatives of Africa in ITTF EC. I have to say frankly, it is time now for Africa to continue the road of success in the future.”

Nigeria’s Wahid Enitan Oshodi has been elected as the Executive Vice President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday, November 24 in Houston, Texas, in the United States.

From the 136 votes cast, Oshodi polled 116 which is 85.29% of the total vote to emerge top among the 14 candidates that vie for the office of the Executive Vice Presidents.

Oshodi is the second Nigerian to be elected to the world body after Segun George and he will serve along with seven other Executive Vice Presidents elected at the AGM.

Sweden’s Petra Sorling became the first woman to be elected as President of ITTF. She clinched the office of the 95-year-old international federation unopposed having been nominated by the Swedish Table Tennis Association and accepted by all the 226 member associations across the world.

Egypt’s Alaa Meshref was reelected into the Executive Committee (EC) of ITTF. It is the first time Africa will have two representatives in the EC. Other elected Vice Presidents are Graham SYMONS (AUS), Alaor AZEVEDO (BRA), LIU Guoliang (CHN), Roland NATRAN (HUN), Masahiro MAEHARA (JPN), and Khalil AL-MOHANNADI (QAT)

The new president of the ITTF and the eight elected Vice Presidents will join the ITTF Athletes Commission Chair Zoran Primorac of Croatia and IOC Member Ryu Seungmin of Korea Republic to form the complete ITTF Executive Committee (EC).

From his humble start as Chairman, Lagos State Table Tennis Association (LSSTA), and following his exceptional performance in that post,  Oshodi was appointed Commissioner for Sports in Lagos State under Governor Babatunde Fashola (2011-2015).  He also served as the President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) from 2013-2017 and was later appointed as the Chairman of the Nomination Committee of ITTF.

Earlier this year, Oshodi was elected as the Deputy President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF). He is an engineer and a lawyer.  

FOR the second time and in a row, Fatimo Bello of Nigeria retained her Women’s Singles title after beating compatriot Aminat Fashola 4-2 in the final of the ITTF Africa Western Region Championships concluded in Lagos on Thursday, 4 November 2021.

CONTINENTAL table tennis powerhouse, Nigeria, lived up to the billings on Day Two of the second ITTF Africa Western Africa Region Championships as the country claimed the mixed doubles event on Tuesday in Lagos, Nigeria.