The only African featuring in the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Champions League, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri will be leading Sporting against Portugal’s Marcos Freitas team, Pontoise Cergy in the third round of the lucrative league on Thursday November 23 in Lisbon.
Quadri who finished among the top eight in the men’s singles of the just concluded Swedish Open will again be hoping to repeat the last week feat against the Portuguese number one star.
Despite not so impressive in their two wins and one loss, Quadri has been looked up as the mainstay of Sporting and he will be stepping into the leadership shoe when they battle Franch side at home in the crucial encounter.
Having humiliated Quadri 3-1 in the first leg encounter won 3-1 by Sporting; Freitas will be hoping to avenge the Swedish Open defeat against the Nigerian.
As the captains of Sporting and Pontoise Cergy, Quadri and Freitas will be the cynosure of all eyes in the epic encounter.
Quadri remains the only African to have featured in the lucrative ETTU Champions League and he hopes to lead Sporting to their first qualification to the last eight of the competition.
The Group A brings a do-or-die clash for double winner of the league, Pontoise Cergy having recorded two losses and one win, Freitas travels to his homeland Portugal to face newcomer Sporting, which has two wins and one loss.
Portugal’s side upset French club in the opening round, 3:1, thanks to Joao Monteiro who provided two wins, beating Can Akuzzu and Freitas in the decider.
