Tournament number one seed and fans favourite, Aruna Quadri of Nigeria, has crashed out of the men’s singles at the ongoing ITTF Nigeria Open table tennis championship in Lagos.
Quadri was beaten by his compatriot, Bode Abiodun, in an epic round of 16 tie.
The encounter had all the qualities of a top class clash as well as a good advertisement for the tournament.
The fans were indeed treated to exciting match, but after the encounter, the fans were disappointed that Quadri could not go beyond the last 16 after he suffered a surprising 4-2 defeat in the hand of Abiodun.
An excited Abiodun said after the victory that he would make Nigeria proud in the tournament.
He said: “With training and concentration anything is possible. He is my teammate at Sporting Lisbon and I know how he plays. This is my first time of upsetting top player. I believe I can make Nigeria proud as the weight is on my shoulder now.
“It is not easy beating Quadri so I have to give thank to God.”
In a similar fashion, the number three seed, Qatar’s Li Ping, also tasted defeat as the former world mixed doubles champion was taken to the cleaner by India’s Sarthak Gandhi.
Being his second match of the competition, Li Ping was a made to play his last match of the competition by the dazzling Indian star who won the encounter at 4-2.