Nigeria’s table tennis star Aruna Quadri has been eliminated from the 2024 ITTF World Championships after a hard-fought 4-2 defeat against world No. 6 Hugo Calderano of Brazil in the Round of 32. The African champion showed moments of brilliance but ultimately fell to the Olympic semifinalist’s powerful forehand attacks (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5) in the 42-minute thriller.
The loss ends Africa’s representation in the singles event, though Quadri’s run to the third round equals his best Worlds performance since 2019. The 35-year-old had earlier defeated Austria’s Daniel Habesohn and Sweden’s Anton Källberg before meeting the Brazilian buzzsaw.
Match Breakdown
✔ Set Scores:
- Calderano 11-8
- Quadri 11-9
- Calderano 11-7
- Calderano 11-6
- Quadri 11-9
- Calderano 11-5
✔ Key Stats:
- 87% serve success (Quadri)
- 12 forehand winners (Calderano)
- 5 net cords (Quadri)
)
Why This Matters
► Confirms Calderano as title contender
► Ends Africa’s singles medal hopes
► Quadri maintains top 20 ranking
What’s Next for Aruna?
- July: WTT Contender Lagos (home tournament)
- August: African Championships title defense
- Paris 2024 Olympics preparation
