Quadri gets first victory at WTT Cup championship

Aruna Quadri has recorded his first victory at the ongoing World Table Tennis (WTT) Cup championship in Singapore. Quadri, who is representing Nigeria at the Championship, defeated the world number eight player, Liang Jingkun of China to 3-1 (7–11, 11-1, 14-12,11-5) in round 16 of the men's singles event to qualify for the quarter finals.

Quadri is the first African player to get to the quarter finals at the ongoing championship, rising to become the world number 13th player. He ascribed his performance to hardwork and dedication. He kept fighting and he did not give up. He tried his best and it worked out for him in the end. He think his positive mindset also contributed to my performance.

He was very happy and excited, he thought was so lucky in the match, everyone is so tired from the championships in Houston. He could see he was tired also, so Quadri kept cool, and it actually worked for him. He said had put several balls to the table and he made a lot of errors. Having lost the first game 7-11 to trail 1-0 on the game, Aruna began the second set on a high note, winning 11 straight points to swiftly even the game 11-1 for 1-1.

Unlike his Chinese opponent who had the technical support of his coach, Quadri had no technical support in his corner. He, however, drew motivation from the support he got from Nigerian fans and others from around the world. He said this win is for all his fans and everyone back home in Nigeria and Africa. He always believed that If he was selected to be there that meant he had what was needed to play.

He said was not under any kind of pressure, he just wanted to play my game and be myself. Supreme reports that the Nigerian will face Brazil's Hugo Calderano in quarterfinal, after the Brazilian defeated China's Lin Gaoyuan 3-0 in round of 16.