Quadri Aruna has emerged as the first African to reach the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Table Tennis (WTT) Grand Smash Series in Singapore.
Quadri Aruna qualified for the last 16 of the men’s singles at the 2023 WTT Singapore Smash, playing a remarkable match to beat French rising star, Alexis Lebrun 3-2 (8-11,11-8,11-5,7-11,11-7.) Aruna is the only African player who made it to the last 16 of the championships.
The Nigerian star defeated some highly-rated players, including Japanese star, Tomokazu Harimoto, who had beaten him thrice in the past, on his way to the last eight of the 2023 World Table Tennis (WTT) Grand Smash Series. This is his first win over the Japanese.
Aruna lost his quarterfinals match 0-4 to Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, who is rated number four in the world.
