Quadri battles Kallberg in WTT opener

Reigning African table tennis champion, Quadri Aruna, will begin his quest to win the second World Table Tennis European Summer Series 2022 when he takes on Anton Kallberg in the round of 32 at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion, Macao, China, The PUNCH reports.

Kallberg is currently ranked 20th in the world, while Quadri is six steps ahead of the Swedish table tennis player.

Quadri and Egyptian trio Hana Goda, Dina Meshref and Mariam Alhodaby are the four Africans featuring at the tournament.

The 33-year-old, who lost 3-0 (11-4, 13-11, 11-7) to Japan’s Harimoto Tamakazu in the third round of the 2021 edition in Doha, will be aiming to improve on his placement at the event, on the back of his African title win in Algeria in September.

The Nigerian came back from two sets down to beat Omar Assar 4-3 in a nerve-wracking final of the 2022 International Table Tennis Federation African Championship in Algeria.

Should the 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist win his match on Wednesday (today), he will face the winner of Mattias Falck and Tomokazu Harimoto in the round of 16.

In the women’s category, Meshref faceoff with Lee Hoo Ching from China in the round of 32, while Goda battles Wang Gidi, also from China.

Alhodaby squares off with Czech’s Hana Matelova.

Speaking on Aruna’s chances at the tournament, President, Nigerian Table Tennis Federation, Ishaku Tikkon, stated, “I’m satisfied with his display so far, and I’m sure he will raise his game against some of the best players in the world at the tournament. His chances are bright, but he must get past Kallberg and we hope he achieves that in style.”