Africa no 1 Table Tennis player, Quadri Aruna has qualified for the quarterfinals of the WTT Finals Men Doha 2023 in Qatar www.aclsports.com gathered.
Aruna who was coached by Tunisian Hachmi Abid stunned the world number five Hugo Calderano of Brazil 3-2 (2-11, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 12-10) in the first round of the WTT Finals Men on Wednesday.
In an interview with WTT, Aruna revealed that he never had the intentions of giving up despite being two sets down.
The World no 16 said Abid (a Doha-based Tunisia coach) kept on encouraging him during the game against the Brazilian superstar.
He said, “I am so happy fight now and cannot describe how it feels. During the game, Nachmi Abid was just telling me not to give up and keep fighting. In the first two sets, I was totally not in the game but he kept on telling me one set can make a difference. I finally won the third set and it made a big difference.
“We were together for a month before the WTT Finals Men and we discussed so many things; I believe so much in him and doing everything he told me to do”.
Aruna disclosed that he has never recorded a win against World no 1, Fan ZhenDong.
He said, “I have recorded defeats against World no 1 Fan ZhenDong of China and Liang Jingkun. I have beaten World no 4, Liang Jingkun (China) once and lost to him thrice. I will definitely give my best tomorrow (Thursday) against Fan ZhenDong in the quarterfinals.
Quadri Aruna is attending the WTT Finals Men Doha 2023 but is assisted by fellow African, Nachmi Abid who is based in Dubai.
