Quadri Aruna electrified the Süwag Energie Arena with a remarkable performance on the opening day of the WTT Champions Frankfurt 2024.
Ranked 21st in the world, the Nigerian pulled off a stunning 3-2 comeback victory against Japan’s No. 5 seed, Tomokazu Harimoto, with scores of (7-11, 11-13, 11-5, 14-12, 11-3).
This victory marked Aruna’s significant win of the day, thrilling the German fans with what can be described as one of his best displays in recent times.
Despite Harimoto’s strong start, winning the first two games, Aruna’s resilience shone through.
He fought back fiercely, much to the admiration of the crowd, and forced a decider.
In the fifth and final game, Aruna played with immense confidence and freedom, dominating the fast exchanges and shifting the momentum firmly in his favour.
His powerful backhand at 10-3 sealed the match, earning him a place in the round of 16 and his second-ever match win at the WTT Champions level, following his first win in Montpellier last week.
Aruna’s never-say-die attitude and exceptional skill left the German fans cheering, as he continues to blaze a trail for African table tennis on the global stage.
Being their fifth meeting on the international stage, Harimoto had an edge with three wins, while Aruna had two victories.
In the round of 16, Aruna will face the winner between Spain’s Alvaro Robles and Germany’s Richardo Walther.
However, 2024 African Champion Omar Assar of Egypt failed to go beyond the first round of the Men’s Singles after losing to Sweden’s Anton Kallberg 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-3), while his compatriot, Dina Meshref, who returned to international action in Frankfurt after missing the continental tournament in Ethiopia last month, fell to China’s Chen Xingtong 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-3) in the Women’s Singles.
Meanwhile, the first African to reach the quarterfinal of the WTT Champions, Hana Goda of Egypt will take on tournament’s wildcard He Zhuojia in the first round of the Women’s Singles tomorrow.
$500,000 is on the table, with the singles champions each coming away with $30,000 and 1000 ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking points.
