Nigerian table tennis players shine at the 2023 ITTF Africa Senior Championships as Nigerians win the men’s singles and the women’s doubles during the tournament.
Nigerian Table tennis icon, Quadri Aruna emerged as the biggest winner at the 2023 ITTF Africa Senior Championships as he won the man’s singles.
The 35-year-old veteran table tennis player emerged winner of the competition which started in Tunis, Tunisia on September 11 and ended on Sunday, September 17.
Quadri Aruna beat Egyptian table tennis player Ahmed Saleh 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 11-6, 11-6) in the final of the 2023 ITTF Africa Senior Championships.
Aruna won the semifinal match against another Nigerian tennis player Olajide Omotayo, 4-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-9, 11-2) to reach the title round.
While Saleh overcame Congo’s Idowu Saheed 4-2 (12-14, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7) in the second men’s singles semifinal after falling behind by two sets to face Aruna in the final.
But Aruna defeated the Egyptian with ease to claim his third continental championship, a year after defeating Egypt’s Omar Assar 4-3 to capture his second championship in Algeria.
On the other hand, Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello and Funke Oshonaike upset Egypt’s Sarah Hanffou and Marwa Alhodaby in the women’s doubles final, winning the match 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10).
As for the women’s singles, Hana Goda defeated fellow Egyptian table tennis star Dina Meshref 4-1 to win the women’s singles as both Egypt and Nigeria continue to dominate the game of tennis in Africa.
