Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has been eliminated from the 2021 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships going on in Houston, Texas following a 4-2 loss to Sweden’s Truls Moregard in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles.
Quadri had earlier gone past the round of 16 defeating Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson, to emerge into the quarterfinals.
Moregard won the first game 13-11 and went on to pick up another game win to lead 2:0 going into the third game.
Quadri, took the third game to reduce Moregard lead to 2:1 but was unable to overpower the Swedish.
Aruna, is the first African player to have reached the round of 16 of the Men’s Singles at this World stage after a dramatic show of Masterclass play over Indian Gnanasekaran.
After his elimination in the round of 16, Aruna, asserted that the Swedish “played amazingly” well to have conquer him.
His earlier achievements saw him reached the quarter finals of the Men’s Singles at the 2014 World Cup.
Also in the 2017 ITTF World Challenge Bulgaria Open he advanced to the Semi-finals where he was defeated by eventual winner Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
In 2018 he won the Nigerian Sportsman of the year award as an outstanding player.