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Nigeria table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, kicked off his 2025 with a significant victory yesterday, by defeating British champion Liam Pitchford. This win propelled him to the third round of the Men’s Singles at the WTT Star Contender Doha in Qatar.
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Earlier in the competition, Egypt’s Dina Meshref was unable to overcome China’s Chen Yi, exiting the Women’s Singles in the second round with a 3-1 loss.
As the only remaining African competitor and the fifth seed, Aruna navigated the challenging style of Pitchford to avoid an early exit.
Despite losing the first game 10-12, Aruna bounced back to win the next three games at 11-9, 11-9, 11-9, securing his spot in the third round.
Next, Aruna will face Spain’s Alvaro Robles, who also advanced by defeating a Japanese contender in the second round.
The Men’s Singles draw saw a major upset with the third seed, Patrick Franziska of Germany, being eliminated in the round of 32. Franziska initially led against Park Ganghyeon of the Korea Republic but ultimately lost 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).
Frenchman Thibault Poret continued his impressive run in Doha, defeating No.14 seed Lim Jonghoon of Korea Republic (11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8) to reach his first round of 16 at the WTT Star Contender stage.
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