African champion and Nigerian table tennis star, Aruna Quadri, was dumped out in the semifinals at the just ended 2019 ITTF World Tour, Bulgaria Open, in Panagyurishte on Sunday.
Marcos Freitas, a qualifier, upset the order of merit to reserve his place in the final as he overcame Aruna by 11-6, 12-14, 11-2, 11-8, 12-10.
The Nigerian produced one of the biggest upsets in the whole tournament, beating Japanese star Jun Mizutani in a seven-game epic.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and China’s Chen Xingtong went on to emerge winners of the men’s singles and women’s singles titles.
Harimoto, after holding two match points in the fifth game, beat China’s Zhao Zihao in six games (11-6, 12-14, 11-5, 13-11, 13-15, 11-4) to secure the title.
In the women’s singles, Chen Xingtong beat colleague He Zhuojia, the no.5 seed (11-4, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-4) in an all Chinese final.
Trending
- Sanwo-Olu: We’ve fulfilled our promises
- Upholding Democracy: The imperative of credible party primaries in Nigeria, by Adebanji Dada
- FG revokes 924 dormant mining licences as minister decries racketeering
- Why I didn’t build schools as Anambra governor, Peter Obi replies Omokri
- Establish base in Sambisa forest, Zulum tells Army
- EFCC withdraws appeal against former Kogi Governor Bello
- Fidelity Bank commends Air Peace’s performance
- How AI, automation, and trusted data are shaping next-generation customer service, by Linda Saunders