Nigeria's Quadri Aruna in tough group at ITTF World Cup

Nigeria's Quadri Aruna in tough group at ITTF World Cup

Hassan Abdulsalam 07:29 - 15.04.2024

Aruna, the first and only African to reach the quarterfinals at the ITTF World Cup, will battle Portugal's Marcos Freitas and Puerto Rico's Daniel Gonzalez.

Nigeria's sole competitor at the ITTF World Cup, Quadri Aruna, finds himself in Group 15 for the men's singles.

Aruna, the first and only African to reach the quarterfinals at the ITTF World Cup, will battle Portugal's Marcos Freitas and Puerto Rico's Daniel Gonzalez in the group as the tournament served off on April 15th.

Aruna is expected to advance to the second stage, where the top player from each of the 16 three-person groups progresses.

Three players to represent Egypt

Another African country, Egypt, boasts a strong presence with three players: Omar Assar in Group 16, Ahmed Saleh in Group 11 and Mohamed El-Beiali in Group 9.

Assar faces a challenge against Sweden's Truls Moregard and Iran's Noshad Alamiyan. Saleh encounters a tough group with former European champion Dan Qui from Germany and Japan's Shunsuke Togami. El-Beiali, making his World Cup debut, will battle Korea's Jang Woojin and France's Simon Gauzy.

Four players will represent Africa in the Women's category

In the women's singles category, Africa is also duly represented. The team comprises three Egyptians and one Cameroonian.

Yousra Helmy in Group 9, Hana Goda in Group 12, and Mariam Alhodaby in Group 11 will compete for Egypt, while Cameroon's Sarah Hanffou joins Group 11 alongside Korea's Joo Cheonhui and Brazil's Bruna Takahashi.

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