Aruna drops 20 spots in ITTF rankings

Nigeria table tennis star Quadri Aruna has suffered his biggest setback in over a decade in the latest International Table Tennis Federation rankings, dropping 20 places to 76th in the world and fourth in Africa, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

It is the first time since 2014 that the Nigerian star has dropped out of the top two in Africa.

For over a decade, Aruna has dominated the continent alongside his Egyptian rival Omar Assar, who remains the No. 1 player in Africa and 31st in the world.

In the latest rankings released on Monday, Aruna was overtaken by Egypt’s Youssef Abdel-Aziz, who is now second in Africa and 57th in the world. At the same time, Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa, who defeated Aruna in the semi-finals of the ITTF Africa Cup in February, is now third in Africa and 75th in the world.

Aruna sits just one place below Bouloussa with 463 points.

While Assar leads the continent with 1,009 points, Abdel-Aziz follows in second place with 601 points, highlighting the gap between the Egyptian and the rest of the field.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo also slipped six places to 193rd in the world, placing 12th in Africa, while youngster Matthew Kuti sits five places below him at No. 198 in the world and 14th in Africa. Abdulbasit Abdulfatai is ranked 226th in the world, while Taiwo Mati, who recently finished on the podium in the men’s doubles alongside Kuti at the WTT Contender Lagos, is ranked 255th in the world.

On a brighter note for Nigeria, 18-year-old Sultan Agunbiade, who reached the round of 16 at the WTT Contender Lagos, climbed 238 places to 268th in the world.

WTT Contender Lagos winner Anders Lind also moved up three places from 17th to 14th, while China’s Wang Chuqin remains the world No. 1 with 10,677 points.

In the women’s rankings, no Nigerian player is currently in Africa’s top five, although several players improved their positions globally.

Fatimo Bello climbed 19 places to 171st in the world, while Ajoke Ojomu remained 175th.

Sukurat Aiyelabegan also rose six places to 224th in the world, while Favour Ojo is now ranked 254th globally.