Africa champion Quadri Aruna in Oman for WTT title

African champion table tennis Quadri Aruna will be searching for his first WTT title as the Nigerian has been listed among the contenders at the WTT Contender Muscat in Oman.

The world number 16 will also be aiming to shore up his world ranking for a place in the end-of-year WTT Finals.

Aruna who recently teamed up with Khaleej Club in the lucrative Saudi Arabia league was given a wildcard to compete in Muscat and he is expected to take his form at the African Championships in Tunis to the event with the hope of clinching his first WTT title.

Expected to start his campaign from the main draw, Aruna will contend with top seeds like Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju, Germany’s duo of Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Dang Qiu who are title contenders in Oman.

Each of the top five seeds has at least one WTT Series title to their name, with 10 split among them. Calderano leads the pack with four wins to his name. Meanwhile, Harimoto comes into Muscat as the top seed but so far in 2023 is yet to win a WTT Series event.

After staging two blockbuster events in 2022, the WTT Contender event is making its return to Oman’s capital for a third round.

For Aruna and other players, Muscat makes for a mesmerising setting as the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex is set to be electrified as the main draw serves off tomorrow to October 14. With 400 ITTF World Ranking Points on offer for the victors, alongside a $75,000 prize pool, the competition is bound to be fierce.

Meanwhile, the organisers of the WTT Champions Frankfurt have confirmed Aruna among the top 30 stars heading to the German city of Frankfurt for the $500,000 prize money tournament. This year’s third WTT Champions showing is bringing out the stars, with Fan world number one Zhendong and Sun Yingsha of China headlining the action.

WTT Champions Frankfurt is shaping up to be an event not to be missed. The action in Infinity Arena will see athletes battle in a knockout format, with each win inching them closer to the 1000 ITTF World Ranking points waiting for the champion. With the best in the business clashing from day one, fans are promised a buffet of high-octane matches.