The game, played at Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, saw the top African player losing 1-4 (8-11 13-15 7-11 11-9 7-11).
Browsing: Quadri Aruna
The Africa Table Tennis Federation on Monday announced that the tournament would hold from May 4 to May 6.
The quarter finals game played at the Infinity arena on Friday saw the Nigerian succumb (11-7, 12-10, 11-2, 11-2).
The game, played in the early hours of Thursday, saw the Nigerian defeat the Japanese in straight sets (11-7, 13-11, 11-7) in the Round of 16 at the Infinity arena.
He has since 2018 been playing second fiddle to Egyptian Omar Assar in finals of continental tournaments until yesterday in Algiers, the table turned.
After a sluggish start at NEC Hall 3 on Sunday, an inspired Nigerian side, led by Quadri Aruna, bounced back to defeat Malaysia 3-2.
Toast of the home fans Aruna was not really tested in his group as he recorded 3-0 wins over Senegal’s Hamidou Sow and Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu.
He is particularly concerned about the threat posed by the present form of Quadri Aruna who set a new record as the first African to reach the semifinal of the WTT Star Contender in Doha, Qatar.
Specifically, he charged the players to take a cue from Aruna who has been described by WTT as one of the most consistent players in terms of performance and participation in international competitions.
The new ranking was achieved by Aruna following the approval of the new World Ranking system by the ITTF Executive Committee.
Being the first African to reach the top 11 in the world, Aruna’s good run in Doha fetched him massive ranking points to rise from the 14th spot to 12 in the latest world ranking.
The Nigerian set a new African record as the first player from the continent to make it to the semifinal of the WTT Star Contender.
Aruna has now defeated three Chinese players enroute the semifinals in Doha, having gotten past Liu Dingshuo in the round of 32 and Zhao Zihao in the last 16.
Also, Edem Offiong who also featured at the Singapore Smash gained a step up to be ranked 98 in the world rating made available to the media by ITTF.
The former national junior champion claimed a bronze medal in the boys doubles event at the 2021 ITTF World Youth Championships in Vila Nova de Gaia that ended on Tuesday, in Portugal.
World number 13 caused an upset in the round of 16 after he defeated world number eight Liang Jingkun of China 3-1 on Sunday but his fine run was ended by a stronger opponent in the Brazilian star.
Aruna is playing in Singapore on the back of an historical outing at the world championships in Houston where he became the first African to reach the quarter finals of the world table tennis championships and the first African to rise up to No.13 in the world.
The Nigerian was ranked 17 in the world before the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships held in Houston, Texas, in the United States, and based on the feat in Houston, Aruna gained four steps up in the ranking to be rated 13th in the ITTF ranking being the first by an African.
According to the organisers, the Nigerian made the cut for the $600,000 prize money championships based on his November 2021 rating to be part of the first-ever WTT Cup Finals.
In the Week 37 of September 14 ranking released by the world table tennis ruling body, Aruna, who was runner’s up in the men’s singles of the Cameroon 2021 ITTF African Championships, moved four steps up the ranking ladder to be rated 15 as the first African to attain such height in the world ranking to erase Omar Assar’s record of world number 16 set by the Egyptian on January 2018.