Nigerian Table Tennis star, Aruna Quadri hopes to qualify for the forthcoming Paris 2024 Olympic games through the International Table Tennis ranking.
The Nigeria’s highest-ranked table tennis player is aiming to qualify for the Olympics for a fourth time, gained a total of 265 points after a quarter-final finish at the recent World Table Tennis men’s finals in Doha, Qatar to move up two spots from 16th position to 14th, which improved his world rating points to 1425 points in the month under review.
Quadri caused one of the biggest upsets at the tourney in Doha, coming from 2-0 down to beat world No.5, Brazil Hugo Calderano, 3-2 to book his place in the quarter-finals, where he lost 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-4) to world No.1 Fan Zhendong.
Reacting to his rise in the monthly ranking, Quadri said, ”I am working hard this year so that I can achieve more successes and continue to shoot up my ranking to be able to secure my qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
The 35-year-old holds eighth continental title overall, and is the reigning African champion in the men’s category. Since 2018, Aruna has secured three African singles titles, triumphed in doubles three times, and emerged victorious in two team events.