Sensational table tennis star, Aruna Quadri, moved up two spots from 18th to 16th in the latest International Table Tennis Federation World Rankings for men’s singles.
The victory of Nigeria table tennis star Aruna Quadri at the just concluded African Championship in Rades, Tunisia is yielding an instant impact, which was his eighth African table tennis title.
The Nigerian top seed retained his men’s singles title with a convincing 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6) amid missing a direct qualifying spot for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In the latest International Table Tennis Federation rankings, Aruna has moved up two places to the 16th position in the world and undisputed number one in Africa.
Aruna earned 500 ranking points for a total of 1260 and remains the best-ranked African player.
He is the only African player in the world’s top 20. Since 2018, Aruna has secured three African singles titles, triumphed in doubles three times, and victorious in two team events.
Egypt’s Omar Assar also moved up one spot to 21st in the world and second in Africa with a total point haul of 990 points, while Ahmed Saleh made an incredible leap moving 218 places to finish the month at 52nd and third in Africa with 38i points.
Mohamed Beiali is ranked 62nd in the world and fourth in the continent, having chalked up 307 points.
Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw lost two spots to finish the month at 90 in the world and fifth on the continent, having chalked up 208 points.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old, Taiwo Mati is the second Nigerian to feature in the top 100 in the world though he dropped two places again to 92nd in the world with 207 points.
The Nigerian duo of Omotayo Olajide and Bode Abiodun made appreciable improvements as they moved up from 264 and 294 spots respectively to rank 104 and 146.
Meanwhile, Amadi Omeh dropped four spots, and is now placed 169th, Azeez Solanke also dropped two spots to 286th, while Riliwan Akanbi on his part dropped four spots in the recent ranking released to 273.
Sportsbeep 