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Tag: ITTF

  • Nigeria reclaims ITTF West Africa title

    Nigeria reclaims ITTF West Africa title

    Nigeria’s men’s team reclaimed their crown at the 2025 ITTF Africa West Regional Championships with a dominant win over Côte d’Ivoire in Thursday’s final.

    The four-day championship is ongoing at Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

    Nigeria’s women’s team, led by Ajoke Ojomu, maintained regional dominance, defeating Benin Republic, Ghana, and Guinea to retain their title.

    The championship also serves as a qualifier for the 2025 African Championships, set for later this year in Kigali, Rwanda.

    After losing the title to Togo in 2024, the Nigerian men returned with renewed determination.

    Playing on home soil in Lagos, they sailed through the group stage, dropping only one set to Côte d’Ivoire.

    From the quarterfinals, Matthew Kuti, Taiwo Mati, and Abdulbasit Abdulfatai delivered strong performances, sweeping Côte d’Ivoire 3-0 in the final.

    The singles competition resumes Friday, with high-stakes matches expected across the board.

    Defending men’s champion Oba Kizito of Côte d’Ivoire faces tough competition from Nigeria’s Taiwo Mati and Matthew Kuti.

    Players from Togo and Benin Republic are also expected to contend for medals in the singles category.

    Guinea’s Maret Camara impressed, topping Group 9 with a 3-0 win over Ghana’s James Marfo.

    Nigeria’s only singles loss came as Matthew Fabunmi narrowly fell 3-2 to Benin Republic’s Atanda Adou in Group 11.

    In the women’s singles, Nigeria’s Ajoke Ojomu, Kabirat Ayoola, Aishat Rabiu, and others all topped their groups to reach the knockouts.

    NAN reports the championship ends Saturday, July 19, with titles to be decided in both men’s and women’s singles.

    Ten countries, including hosts Nigeria, are participating in this four-event regional tournament.

    The top three teams in each event will qualify for the continental finals in Rwanda this October. (

  • Aruna shines as ITTF World Championships begin in Doha

    Aruna shines as ITTF World Championships begin in Doha

    Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna stole the spotlight on opening day of 2025 ITTF World Championships in Doha with a dominant 4-0 win over Brazil’s Victor Ishiy in Men’s Singles.

    Aruna, the 2024 African Cup champion, on Saturday delivered a confident performance, winning 11-9, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 to underline his top-contender status.

    Also impressing for Nigeria, Olajide Omotayo and Kabirat Ayoola edged Egypt’s Mahmoud Helmy and Hend Fathy 3-2 in a gripping Mixed Doubles battle.

    In spite of losing the first game, the Nigerian pair rallied brilliantly to clinch victory in five thrilling sets and reach the second round.

    Elsewhere, Egypt’s Yousra Helmy advanced in Women’s Singles with a commanding 4-1 win over Australia’s Jocelyn Lam.

    However, several African players bowed out early, including Nigeria’s Hope Udoaka and Ethiopia’s Darara Dufera, who lost in straight sets.

    The 2025 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships, featuring over 300 athletes from 70 countries, runs for nine days in Doha, Qatar.

    Matches are being held at the Lusail Multipurpose Hall and Qatar University Sports Complex, with strong global interest and fierce competition.

    A major upset came in Mixed Doubles as unseeded Italians Bobocica and Stoyanov stunned 12th seeds Ionescu and Szőcs 3-0.

    NAN reports that fans can expect more thrilling encounters when action resumes on Sunday, with several key fixtures on the schedule.

  • ITTF Africa championship: Aruna withdraws from men’s singles

    ITTF Africa championship: Aruna withdraws from men’s singles

    Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has  withdrawn from the men’s singles  event at the ongoing 2024 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Championships in Addis Ababa owing to a thigh injury and fatigue.

    Despite leading Nigeria to a gold medal in the team event against Algeria on Oct. 14, Aruna had to pull out of his second-round match against Benin Republic’s Dodji Fanny.

    “I have been playing in various tournaments for the past two months, often in different time zones.

    “I was in India, Macau, China, and then Saudi Arabia for league matches. After a brief rest at home, I went to the French League for a training camp.

    ”Immediately after, I traveled to Ethiopia, which was exhausting. The high altitude in Addis Ababa made it even harder to acclimatize.” Aruna said in a statement issued  on Thursday in Addis Ababa.

    He added, “During the team event, I felt pain in my buttock and tightness in my hamstring. it is  crucial to rest now to avoid worsening the injury.”

    With several tournaments still ahead this year, including two more WTT Championships and leagues in Saudi Arabia and France, Aruna stressed  the importance of recovery.

    “I need to rest to ensure I don’t aggravate the injury,” he said.

    Aruna will stay with the team to support the younger players and will depart Addis Ababa with them this weekend.

  • Aruna picks Olympics ticket for Nigeria in Table Tennis

    Aruna picks Olympics ticket for Nigeria in Table Tennis

    The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has formally confirmed the eventual qualification of Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi from Africa, for the singles event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.

    The confirmation was made in a statement issued on Friday by the ITTF with representation from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.

    “As the countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games intensifies, ITTF is thrilled to announce significant progress in the qualification process for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

    With less than 50 days to the games, this week’s world ranking update saw eight athletes secure their participation based on the selection of continental quotas allocated by World Ranking.

    According to the statement, the Men’s Singles draw welcomes African powerhouse, Quadri Aruna from Nigeria, alongside the Americas’ rising talent Nicolas Burgos from Chile.

    The list also had Asia’s Kirill Gerassimenko of Kazakhstan and Europe’s Alvaro Robles of Spain, who previously qualified in Mixed Doubles.

    The ITTF also said that the Women’s Singles competition would showcase a similar level of global talent with the qualification of Lynda Loghraibi from Algeria (Africa), Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico (Americas) and Singapore’s Zhou Jingyi (Asia).

    Also Yang Xiaoxin of Monaco (Europe) can now officially begin their preparations for their Olympic dreams in Paris.”

    ITTF stated that the qualification process would reach its penultimate stage with only one more world ranking update scheduled before the final roster for Paris is confirmed.

    “Next week’s world rankings will be crucial in determining the final competitors for the highly anticipated Paris 2024 Games, 86 men and 86 women are expected to compete in the singles events of the Olympic Games,” ITTF added in the statement.

    Meanwhile, ITTF has named three Africans – Akram Ben Attia (Tunisia), Es-Sayed Elrawdy (Egypt) and Ronald Mugwanya (Uganda) among the umpires for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

  • Aruna returns to top 16 on ITTF ranking

    Aruna returns to top 16 on ITTF ranking

    Nigeria’s Table Tennis sensation, Quadri Aruna, continues his steady rise on the ITTF ranking by gaining one step up on the ladder to occupy the 16th spot as the highest African ranked player.

    According to a statement on Wednesday by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Aruna moves to the 16th position in Week 23 of the 2024 ITTF ranking on June 4.

    Also, Aruna’s quest to garner more points ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France, has pitted him against home-boy Frane Kojic in the first round of the men’s singles at the 2024 WTT Contender Zagreb in Serbia.

    Aruna started his rise in the ranking in Week 22 after his round of 16 finish at the Saudi Smash last month.

    He had his appeal accepted by the ITTF Executive Board for his World Table Tennis Championships points to be restored and this prompted his movement to 16th place in the latest ranking.

    However, Aruna, awaits formal confirmation from ITTF for his qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

    ”The ranking will be used to determine the final list of players who will join the flight to France’s most populous city, Paris next month for the Olympic Games,” the statement added.

    Meanwhile, Spain’s Alvaro Robles has become the biggest mover in the ITTF ranking after achieving another career-high ranking.

    It has been over six years since Robles has scored a career-high ranking as the Spaniard kicked off 2018 sitting at No.37 in the world and had never been as high since.

    But with the latest rating, Robles jumped 15 places up the ladder to No.32, shaving five places off his previous record.

    This is a phenomenal testament to the his commitment to the sport and also to his recent form.

    The 33-year-old has been to the final of two WTT events in 2024, including last week’s WTT Contender Mendoza.

    Although he lost out on the title in a thrilling seven-game duel with Benedikt Duda of Germany, the new career-high ranking will add further fuel to Robles’ fire to go even higher.

  • Aruna reclaims top spot in Africa, moves two spot in ITTF rankings

    Aruna reclaims top spot in Africa, moves two spot in ITTF rankings

    Quadri Aruna has reclaimed his place after leaping to 17th place in Week 22 of the 2024 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Ranking.

    The ranking released on Tuesday by the world table tennis ruling body, saw Aruna move two places from the 20th spot and second in Africa from the ranking released in Week 21 to gaining 17th place.

    However, Egypt’s Omar Assar slipped to 22 in the world rating after occupying the top spot in Africa in the last two months following his triumph at the last African Games in Ghana.

    Aruna, who recently reclaimed the ITTF Africa Cup in Rwanda this month, rose by two steps up the ranking ladder to become the highest rated African in the world.

    Assar’s drop in the world ranking was due to the expiration of the quarterfinal points he garnered at the Durban 2023 World Championships in South Africa.

    This automatically made him lose some points that prompted his fall in the ranking.

    While others are dropping from the pecking order of ranking, Aruna’s 1,240 points remain static and the freefall of others prompted his rise in the world ranking.

    Africa’s biggest movers in May, Egyptian Mohamed El-Beiali, who became the third-best-ranked player in the continent after finishing as runner-up at the 2024 ITTF Africa Cup after a 4-0 loss to Aruna in Kigali, dropped to 49th in the world rating.

    In spite dropping by a step, Egypt’s Dina Meshref held on to the top spot Africa as the 24th best player in the worl in the women’s category.

    Meshref’s compatriot, Hana Goda, remained static on second place in Africa but ranked 31st in the world.

  • Aruna, Meshref reclaim ITTF Africa Cup title

    Aruna, Meshref reclaim ITTF Africa Cup title

    Quadri Aruna and Dina Meshref reclaimed the ITTF Africa Cup title after winning the 2024 edition at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

    This was made known in a statement by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) on Tuesday.

    It stated that Aruna, the top seed still fresh from his exploits at the WTT Saudi Smash, was again unstoppable with a commanding win in the final against Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali.

    The one-sided final saw Aruna effortlessly take down the Egyptian with a 4-0 (11-5, 11-6, 12-10, 11-3) win to emerge as the new Africa Cup champion after losing the title to Egypt’s Omar Assar in 2018.

    ”There was never an easy win in any competition, and I am happy that I gave my best and my best resulted in the victory.

    ”It has always been in me not to give up, even when I am down, and I am happy that all my hard work paid off with the victory.

    ”I must commend Rwanda for providing good facilities and their hospitality for us, the players, and I look forward to returning again to this beautiful country,” Aruna said.

    Like Aruna, Meshref was at her best after coming back from 2-0 down to defeat her compatriot, Mariam Alhodaby, 4-3 to become the new Africa Cup champion after losing the last two editions in the final.

    A relieved Meshref described the victory as crucial, particularly coming back from injury.

    ”I am happy that I was able to come back, especially coming back from an injury I sustained before the tournament.

    ”I must thank my family and my mother, who sacrificed to be with me in Rwanda.

    ”It was a tough win for me here in this beautiful country of Rwanda, and I will cherish this moment for a very long time to come,” she said.

    The tournament has over 50 players from 14 countries taking part as players brace up for the African Olympic Qualification Tournament, which begins on May 16 and ends on May 18.

  • Nigeria, Egypt lose matches at ongoing ITTF World Championship

    Nigeria, Egypt lose matches at ongoing ITTF World Championship

    Two of Africa’s representatives, Nigeria and Egypt have suffered defeats at the ongoing ITTF World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) taking place in Busan, South Korea.

    A statement by Olalekan Okunsan, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), stated that while Nigeria lost 0-3 to Chinese Taipei, Egypt were beaten 3-0 by Romania in their first group match.

    It would be recalled that there was a walkover of the Nigerian men’s team by Japan following the absence of Quadri Aruna and the late arrival of Bode Abiodun, in the country’s first match at the championship.

    Okusan stated that another African representative Algeria also lost to France in the men and women events, while South African ladies were no match to their Brazilian counterparts in their second match of the group.

    The loss of the four African representatives meant that the continent is still searching for their first win at the ongoing championships.

    “The Nigerian women’s team lost their second group match against Slovakia, while they were expected to take on Germany on Sunday, Feb. 18.

    “In their quest to record their first group win, the Nigerian men’s team will take on their African counterpart Madagascar in what promises to be brother-against-brother.

    “Egypt’s search for their first win will put them against Portugal in their second group match, while Algeria will rest in readiness for their tie against Denmark on Monday, Feb. 19,” Okusan said in the statement.

    Olajide Omotayo, a Nigerian table tennis player while reacting, described the absence of Aruna as a major set-back to the team while still nursing the ambition of advancing from the group.

    “It was very bad that we lost gallantly against Chinese Taipei, but sports can be like this sometimes and my partner just arrived in Korea, so he’s a bit tired.

    “Also, our key player is not here, and we can’t win every time. We’ll fight for the next match.

    “Chinese Taipei has very good and strong teams, and they have more experience and play really well.

    “For the next match, we need to go to sleep because I haven’t slept since I got to Korea,” the 2019 African Games champion said.

  • Nigeria’s Aruna hits 12th spot in latest ITTF ranking

    Nigeria’s Aruna hits 12th spot in latest ITTF ranking

    Nigeria’s veteran Table Tennis player, Quadri Aruna, has gained one step up the ladder of the new
    International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) ranking to become the world’s 12th best player.

    The ITTF, quoting from the Week 7 ranking of 2024, released on Tuesday, stated that the African champion displaced former European champion Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany who dropped to the 13th place.

    According to the statement, Aruna’s performance at the World Table Tennis Star Contender Goa in India, aided him in his quest to rise above the 16th spot where he began this year.

    It said Egypt’s Omar Assar though dropped to the 22nd from 20th in the ranking, yet, he still maintained his sway as the continent’s second-best player in the world.

    “Egyptian veteran Ahmed Saleh gained one step up the ladder to occupy the 52nd place in the world ranking, while his fellow compatriot Mohamed El-Beiali almost an Egyptian is now ranked 63rd after moving one step up the ranking.

    “Taiwo Mati remains Nigeria’s second-best ranked Nigerian in the world as the Portugal-based star moved two steps up to be placed 103 in the world.

    “Egypt’s Mamhoud Helmy is the biggest mover in the ITTF ranking as the former African U-21 champion moved 498 steps up the ladder to be ranked 215 in the world.

    “In the women’s ranking, Egypt’s Dina Meshref maintained her status as the best ranked African occupying 27th place in the world ranking and she is closely followed by another compatriot Hana Goda who is ranked 30th.

    “Fatimo Bello remains Nigeria’s best ranked female player in the world, occupying 116th spot in the world,” it stated.

    The statement added that later in the week, Aruna was expected to lead the Nigerian contingent to the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Busan 2024 in South Korea.

    It said Aruna would be hoping to improve his world rating as the organisers had decided to award individual ranking points to players based on their team performance at the global tournament.

    According to ITTF, the introduction of individual ranking points for Busan is part of a broader strategic initiative designed to provide players and teams with a more comprehensive evaluation of their achievements.

    It said this initiative sought to acknowledge individual performances within the framework of team competitions, ultimately elevating the prestige of team events.

  • Aruna moves up to 14th in latest ITTF ranking

    Aruna moves up to 14th in latest ITTF ranking

    Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna on Monday began the new year with an improvement in his International Table-tennis Federation (ITTF) world ranking.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Aruna gained points in his quarter final finish at the World Table-tennis (WTT) Finals, which earned him the 14th position in the latest ITTF Ranking.

    The African champion caused one of the biggest upsets at the WTT Finals, Doha 2023.

    This was after he came from 0-2 down to beat world number five Hugo Calderano of Brazil 3-2 and book his place in the quarter finals of the year-ending tournament held in Qatar.

    Aruna who was ranked 16th before the WTT Finals gained 265 points after his quarter final finish in Doha.

    This improved his world rating points to 1,425 ahead of 15th placed Darko Jorgic of Slovenia who has 1,340 points.

    Also, WTT has listed Aruna’s 2023 triumph over former world number five Tomokazu Harimoto among the five biggest upsets of the outgone year.

    This was after the Nigerian stunned the Japanese 3-0 to reach the quarter final stage of the Singapore Smash in 2023.

    “I am working hard this year so that I can achieve more successes and continue to shoot up my ranking.

    “This will enable me secure my qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Aruna was quoted on the WTT website as saying.

    Meanwhile, Aruna has been listed alongside Egypt’s Omar Assar among the top 20 players that will start their campaign from the main draw of the 2024 WTT Star Contender.

    The tournament which served off on Monday with the preliminary round will end on Saturday at the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar with a prize money of 250,000 dollars