Double heartbreak for Africa’s best, Quadri Aruna, in Doha

Doha has become a tricky hunting ground for Africa’s best table tennis player, Quari Aruna, after he finished two consecutive tournaments in the city with heartbreak from two painful defeats at very critical stages. Nigeria’s table tennis poster-boy’s recent performance at the ongoing ITTF World Championships in Doha has reflected the same performance at the […]

Doha has become a tricky hunting ground for Africa’s best table tennis player, Quari Aruna, after he finished two consecutive tournaments in the city with heartbreak from two painful defeats at very critical stages.

Nigeria’s table tennis poster-boy’s recent performance at the ongoing ITTF World Championships in Doha has reflected the same performance at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender in the same city at the beginning of this year.

At the two tournaments in Doha, he scaled through the hurdles from the preliminaries to the round of 16 in the ongoing tournament before he bowed out to the Brazilian, Hugo Calderano, while his campaign in the WTT Smash in January ended at the semi-finals.

Weekend Trust Sports reports that from his outings in WTT, ITTF Africa and World Championships, his two performances at Doha stand out, despite finishing with no medal.

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Aruna at 2025 ITTF World Championships in Doha 

The African champion began his campaign with a convincing 4-0 win over Brazilian Victor Ishiy in the round of 128, setting him up for an encounter against Norwegian left-hander Borgar Haug in the round of 64.

In the thrilling encounter, Aruna fired from all cylinders to forge ahead, securing a 4-2 to progress to the round of 32 where he continued his fine form by overcoming Germany’s Benedikt Duda 4-2.

The victory against the German paired him against his long-standing rival, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano where he succumbed to the Brazilian outright dominance from start to finish, losing 4-0 in the round of 16.

Despite the loss, Aruna made history as the first African to reach the Round of 16 at the ITTF World Championships twice, following his quarterfinal appearance at the 2021 edition in Houston, USA.

Also In Doha, he was the only African to finish in the top 16, further cementing his legacy.

 

Aruna’s performance at 2025 WTT in Doha

Aruna’s table tennis expedition in 2025 began on the soil of Doha, Qatar, from receiving a bye in the round of 64, to cruising to the semi-final where he lost 3-0 to the eventual winner, 21-year-old Japanese, Tomokazu Harimoto.

Aruna’s road to semi-final was laced with tough battles but he rode victoriously defeating England’s Liam PitchFord 3-1 and Spain’s Alvaro Robles in the round of 32 and 16 respectively to progress to the quarter-final.

The quarter final saw a thrilling action as the Nigerian table tennis star ousted Korea Republic’s Park Ganghyeon, eliciting massive cheers and raising the hope that he would break the 2022 Doha jinx.

Unfortunately, he fell to Japan’s Harimoto at the semi-final of the WTT Star Contender 2025 Doha, but Aruna’s run was a display of his world acclaimed talent. 

It will be recalled that at the WTT 2022 Doha, Aruna’s exploits shone brightly, becoming a nightmare to the Chinese as he consecutively defeated Zhou Qihao, Zhao Zihao and LiuDingshuo. Sadly, he ended as a semi-finalist.

These double mishaps in 2025 have exposed Aruna’s failings at very critical stages denying him world champion experience. Despite losing out when he was on the verge of history, he still retains his status as one of the shining lights of African table tennis. No wonder, he has earned for himself a position among the top 20 table tennis players in the world. 

According to the latest ITTF ranking, he is currently the number one in Africa and sits at the 18th position in the world.