Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri lost 4-3 to Egypt’s Omar Assar in the final of the men’s singles at the 2025 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Cup.
The 36-year-old was outlasted by his arch-rival in a thrilling encounter on Thursday at the Palais des sports, in Tunis, Tunisia.
Aruna was the defending champion after winning the previous edition in Rwanda, but he came up short this time.
He lost the first set 11-3 to Assar before rallying to pick the second set 16-14. The Egyptian claimed the third set also, but Aruna equalised with the following round.
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They also shared the fourth and fifth rounds before Assar swept Aruna aside in the final set to claim the title.
The defeat was Aruna’s third ITTF Africa Cup final loss to Assar. He had lost to the Egyptian in the 2022 and 2023 editions.
On the positive note, Aruna qualified for the 2025 ITTF World Cup in Macau, China. He secured the qualification after making the final four of the ITTF Africa Cup.
Fatimo Bello was the other Nigerian who secured a World Cup ticket after qualifying for the women’s singles semi-final of the ITTF Africa Cup.
Bello lost her semi-final match against Egypt’s Hana Goda who eventually claimed the women’s title.
(Editor : Paul Akhagbemhe )
