Nigeria’s Quadri makes ITTF top 10 active players
Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri has been listed among the top 10 active players in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) ranking following his superlative performance at the last Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
Quadri, who was ranked 237 in February this year is now rated 108 in the world following the release of the August ranking by the world table tennis rulling body.
In the last two months, Quadri had defeated some of the world’s highly-rated players like Egypt’s duo of Oma Assar and El-Sayed Lashin as well as Singapore’s Jian Zhan. His triumph over Egypt’s Lashin at the Africa Top 16 Cup ensured that the Nigerian will fly Africa’s flag at the 2014 Men’s World Cup in Germany come October.
As the most consistent player in Africa this year, Quadri denied Egypt’s Assar the chance to feature in another World Cup when the Nigerian dazed the Egyptian 4-2 in the semi-final of the African Top 16 Cup, which serves as the continental qualifiers for the World Cup.
Speaking on Team Nigeria’s performance in Glasgow, Quadri said: “I really must confess that our team did great because it’s not easy to pick up a medal in Glasgow in the midst of top players in the world. We had over 10 players in Glasgow ranked among the top 100 in the world. Winning a bronze medal in Glasgow was like winning a gold medal and that’s why our jubilation was great and with this I think we did great and surpassed our last games performance in India.”
On his outing, he said: “I think my personal performance was not bad because I gave my best and I am happy that I contributed to the team’s medal success. I did not lose a single individual match in team event and I thank God for giving me the energy to achieve this.”
He however, emphasised the immense contribution of Segun Toriola to the team. “Toriola is still important to the team as we all witnessed what he did in Glasgow. He really motivated and encouraged us. He was also part of the selected players that won the bronze medal match against India, while his partnership with Ojo Onaolapo was superb. Even after he retired we will surely need his services,” he said.
He attributed his recent exploits to his participation in some Pro Tours and tournaments, while calling on the National Sports Commissision (NSC) to support the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) in its efforts to lift the fortune of the game in the country.