Aruna Quadri Awaits World Ranking for Tokyo Olympics Ticket

Aruna Quadri Awaits World Ranking for Tokyo Olympics Ticket

Africa’s number one table tennis player, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna is hoping to pick his ticket to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games from the world ranking after his unsuccessful efforts at qualifying for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games through the World Singles Qualification Tournament (WSQT) in Doha, Qatar.

Listed among the 73 men competing at the WSQT and seeded number two behind England’s Liam Pitchford, Aruna yesterday fell to Russian sensation Vladimir Sidorenko 4-2 (11-3, 11-13, 11-6, 9-11, 4-11, 7-11) to miss out from picking the ticket from WSQT.

Despite expressing disappointment over his performance against the Russian who last week edged out Egypt’s Omar Assar from the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender, Aruna is optimistic that with his performance at the WTT Contender Series and Star Contender, his spot in Tokyo is certain.

“It was not what I expected but all hope is not lost as I am still the second rated player in the world among the ranking of those who are yet to pick their tickets to Tokyo.

“For now, the ranking will remain like this as there are no tournaments again until May when the final list would be made public. I will continue to train in readiness for the games as I only need the final confirmation from ITT to be listed for Tokyo 2020,” Aruna said.

Nine places were up for grabs at the World Singles Qualification Tournament (WSQT) taking place at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena in Doha, Qatar.
Hosted and organised by the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA), under the auspices and authority of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), four spots will be reserved for men while another five set aside for women.

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