The President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy has said that the performance of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri is a confirmation of Africa’s relevance in table tennis worldwide.
He believes the 2014 ITTF Star Player is a pride to Africa in Brazil, just as he added that the heroics of Quadri confirm Africa’s relevance in global table tennis.
“I must admit that all the African players did their best in the singles, while the extra ordinary outcome was through Aruna Quadri for his superb performance against the top ITTF ranked players like Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan and Germany’s Timo Boll.
“In my opinion the achievement of Aruna Quadri in Rio will be of great impact to Africa and all players as well as help to break all barriers, raising the ceiling of ambitious player at all World and Olympic title events regardless of their opponents,” the ATTF boss said.
He added: “Simply, Aruna Quadri is perfect, full of energy and trust his skills with good preparation. He also put his mind in the game to fly the flag of Nigeria and Africa in such Olympic Games.”
On what young players can emulate from Quadri, he said: “They have to follow the foot step of Aruna Quadri in terms of preparation, dedication in training and with this nothing is impossible.”
For Segun Toriola, the memory of Rio 2016 Olympics would live with him forever after the former African champion was honoured by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) as the first African to feature in seven Olympic Games.
“It was a very special moment to receive the award,” Toriola said.