Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Omar Assar, two of Africa’s top table tennis stars, have been named among the top seeds for the 2025 WTT Star Contender Chennai.
The prestigious tournament, boasting a $275,000 prize pool, has drawn elite players from around the world, including Japan’s world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto and Brazil’s world No. 5 Hugo Calderano.
Harimoto and Calderano lead the Men’s Singles seeding, with Denmark’s Jonathan Groth ranked third. Aruna, Africa’s highest-ranked player, holds the fourth seed, while Assar follows closely as the fifth seed.
Both Aruna and Assar have received byes to the second round (last 32) in the Men’s Singles, where they will begin their campaigns to claim a significant share of the prize money.
Aruna, a late replacement for Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, aims to improve on his second-round finish in 2024 with another strong performance in India.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium will host the competition over the next five days, featuring top table tennis talent across five disciplines.
The two-day qualifying rounds was concluded, with the main draw action starting today through March 30.
The tournament offers not only a substantial prize pool but also crucial ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking points, making every match highly competitive.
In the Men’s Singles Qualifying, Nigeria-born Italian national champion, John Oyebode, the No. 3 seed, showcased his dominance by defeating local hopeful Arnav Karnavar (11-4, 11-5, 11-2) in just 16 minutes. Oyebode now faces Abhinandh Pradhivadhi in the final qualifying round for a spot in the main draw.
In the Women’s Singles event, Japan boasts a strong presence, with Hina Hayata leading the seeding. Aiming to add to her impressive collection of seven WTT Series titles, Hayata is joined by Miwa Harimoto and Satsuki Odo. Harimoto, a two-time WTT Contender champion, looks to make her mark at the WTT Star Contender level, while Odo seeks her first WTT Series breakthrough since winning WTT Champions Montpellier 2024.
India will also be well represented, with table tennis icon Sharath Achanta, alongside Manav Thakkar and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, competing in the Men’s Singles. Meanwhile, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula will aim for success in the Women’s Singles, setting the stage for a historic week in Chennai.
