Quadri Aruna has become the first African to reach the quarter finals at the inaugural World Table Tennis (WTT) tournament in Singapore.
The world number 13 defeated China’s Liang Jingkun 3-1 to become the first African to qualify for the quarter final of the WTTF Gold cup.
However, his Singapore adventure ended following a 3-1 loss to Brazilian, Hugo Calderon, in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles.
Speaking after the defeat to Calderon, an excited Quadri Aruna said he’s satisfied with his performance and added that his objective is to go further next year.
In his words, the 33-year-old Quadri Aruna said:
“My objective is to do much better next year than this year. Playing in the quarterfinal and representing Africa means a lot to me.
I appreciate the fans for their support and I will like to thank all of them, because they are the reason I keep growing and I will keep counting on them next year.”
After four action-packed days, the first-ever WTT Cup Finals came to a close. The final showdown between four of the finest table tennis players in the world crowned Sun Yingsha and Fan Zhendong. All players share a prize pool of USD 600,000 – with men and women players being awarded equal prize money.
WTT Council Chair Liu Guoliang commented:
“Our goal is to turn table tennis into a truly global sports, with athletes at the core since they are the one who should benefit the most. WTT has created a fully professional platform for the athletes, from young players to champions who are vying to win the most prestigious competitions. All of them are able to get the chance to compete in WTT events.”
Steve Dainton, ITTF Group CEO, commented:
“I am proud of World Table Tennis; they have delivered a superb Cup Finals, which will become the launching pad for future marquee events in Singapore. Furthermore, I am certain this will give other cities the confidence to collaborate with us to host spectacular events next year. We demonstrated it here: hosting WTT events brings extensive benefits to a host city, from tangible financial and economic impacts to destination marketing.”
