Aruna fails in bid to reach WTT finals milestone

The bid of Nigeria’s highest ranked table tennis player, Quadri Aruna, of setting a new record as the first African player to reach the semi-finals at the WTT Finals came to an end on Thursday after losing 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-4) to World number 1 Fan Zhendong of China.

The Nigerian had earlier defeated World number five, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano 3-2 in the Round of 16 before facing Fan in the Quarter finals. However, the Chinese continued his dominance over the Nigerian and at the Infinity Arena in Doha.

Zhendong showed why he remains the best by thwarting all attempts by the African champion to win.

It's the end of the road for Quadri Aruna in Doha, but what a fantastic performance he put in despite this quarter-final loss to the World No. 1. pic.twitter.com/DVBgLz7iVm

— ITTF-Africa (@ITTFAfrica) January 4, 2024

Both players matched themselves power-for-power and shot-for-shot but it was the Asian champion that prevailed in the first quarterfinal of the tournament.

The Chinese is going for his second WTT Finals title after lifting the Men’s Singles trophy in 2021 and he was able to fend off Aruna’s efforts having dropped just one game in their four encounters to date.

Top seed Fan Zhendong did not come to play in the first #WTTFinals Men Quarterfinal 👀

More #WTTDoha QF action LIVE 👉 https://t.co/obRmtF4HiQ pic.twitter.com/9wW7fhnaTR

— World Table Tennis (@WTTGlobal) January 4, 2024

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Aruna’s fightback in the second game was halted and this prevented the Nigerian from exceeding his quarterfinal finish at the WTT Finals.

This is the second time the Nigerian will be playing in the quarterfinal of the tournament as he matched his performance at WTT Cup Finals 2021.