Quadri Sets Another Record, Now Africa’s Best

Nigerian table tennis player, Aruna Quadri has added his name to the history books again, as he set a new personal record for himself and the country ranking 21 in the end-of-the-year table tennis rankings, released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

Quadri has now surpassed Omar Assar of Egypt as number one in Africa.

Assar dropped from 20 to 26 in the latest ranking.

The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, in a statement on Friday, said Quadri has now surpassed his best of 25th in the ranking.

“This has helped him to displace Egypt’s Omar Assar as the continent’s best-ranked player in the world.

“In spite of not matching the record set by Assar as the first African ranked among the top 20 in the world, Quadri ends the year as the highest-ranked African in the latest rating,’’ the Nigerian sport ruling body said.

Also speaking, President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Ishaku Tikon, said, “The feat is commendable as Quadri continues to put Nigeria and Africa on the world map with his scintillating performance at global stage.

“We are excited about this latest ranking and this goes to show that our efforts are paying off and what we just need to do is to ensure we unearth and nurture more players like Quadri.

“Also, the young players should take a cue from Quadri in terms of his diligence, professionalism and dedication to the trade.

“I hope and believe they can follow his footsteps in their career to make it to the top.”