Olusesan Oba
Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri on Sunday retained the ITTF Africa Senior Championship title after crushing Ahmed Saleh of Egypt in the final of the 2023 edition of the tournament held in Tunisia.
The former World Table Tennis Star of the Year defeated the Egyptian 4-0 (11-2, 12-10, 12-6, 12-6) to retain the title he won in Algeria last year.
He had staged a remarkable comeback to beat arch-rival Omar Assar last year but he was too hot for Saleh in Rades, on Sunday evening. Assar had crashed out in the quarterfinal after sustaining an injury.
On their way to the final, Quadri thrashed fellow Nigerian compatriot Olajide Omotayo 4-0 in the first semi-final game, while Saleh edged Saheed Idowu of DR Congo 4-2 in the second semifinal match.
Similarly, Hana Goda defeated fellow Egyptian Dina Meshref of Egypt 4-1 to win the women’s singles title of the 2023 ITTF Africa Senior Championship.
Meanwhile, seven-time Olympian, Funke Oshonaike, partnered with Fatimo Bello to claim the gold medal for Nigeria in the women’s doubles event at the 2023 ITTF Africa Championship on Saturday.
Their feat made them the first Nigerians to win a gold medal at the ongoing tournament in Tunis, Tunisia.
