Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri will know his round of 16 opponent on Tuesday (today) when the draws for the World Table Tennis tournament takes place the ultra-modern Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, The PUNCH reports.
The two-day tournament which will hold from January 3 to 5 in Doha, Qatar will see the winner receive the sum of $340,000 as prize money.
Quadri who will be making his third appearance at the 2023 edition is the only African player to have featured at the WTT finals since its inaugural edition in 2021.
Currently, the lowest ranked player at the tournament, Quadri will aim to surpass his best ever finish – a quarter-final at the 2023 edition.
His best outing was in his maiden outing when he beat the then world number six Liang Jingkun of China to qualify for the quarter-final where he was beaten by Brazil’s Hugo Calderano in 2023.
The 33-year-old will also hopes to use the tournament to improve on his rankings as he bids to qualify for the Paris Olympics but he faces an herculean task against some of the finest players in the world including former world and Olympic champion Ma Long of China as well as French teenage sensation Felix Lebrun.
The Nigerian veteran retained his men’s African singles title at the 2023 ITTF African Championships in Tunis, Tunisia last September defeating Ahmed Saleh of Egypt 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6) in dominant style.
It was his eighth continental title overall.
Since 2018, Aruna has secured three African singles titles, triumphed in doubles three times, and emerged victorious in two team events.
