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2019 Hong Kong Open: Victory over Chinese star excites Quadri

Having suffered several defeats against top Chinese Stars in the past, Aruna Quadri is excited over his first round win over China’s Zheng Peifeng at the just concluded ITTF World Tour Hong Kong Open.

Hong Kong Open: Victory excites Quadri

In all his meetings against any top Chinese top stars, Quadri has never claimed victory against the Asians but he broke this myth against the pen-holder Chinese star in the entertaining encounter played at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium last Thursday.

In their maiden meeting, the Chinese star blew Quadri away with a 4-0 win but the Nigerian turned the tide as the number 15th seed with 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 5-11, 10-12, 11-5 win to get standing ovation from the fans at the venue.

An excited Quadri told NationSport that he could not hide his excitement over the win. “I am very happy with my performance in Hong Kong because I have never win against any player from China but I was so determined in the match even when my opponent wanted to frustrate me with his attitude. It was a big boost for my confident playing against Chinese players now,” he said.

But it was former World Junior champion – Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto that ended the dream of Quadri in the second round with 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 win over the African champion.

“It was a very tough match, I had never played against him, I think he is very fast today and I cannot cope with his speed. I think I have learnt some lessons from this first time playing him, I hope I can correct my some mistakes and I can win a few games the next time I play him,” he said.

Read Also: Aruna Quadri claims crucial win in Hong Kong Open

Quadri added: “It was a very difficult day, I kept fighting but it was not working, at some moments I lost some easy points at crucial stages, it really cost me and thus losing four straight games. I think I need some luck and some correction in my tactics in order to win some games. So I think if I was lucky enough, I was leading three points in three of the games, and I could not take the chances. If I was able to take these chances it could be some very close games, and who knows, maybe I could even win.”

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