TheCable

Quadri Aruna, Nigeria table tennis star, has been eliminated by Tsuboi Gustavo of Brasil in the third round of the men’s singles at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.

The thrilling encounter, which was played in the early hours of Tuesday, saw the highest-rated African table tennis star beaten 4-2 by the Brasilian at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Aruna won the first game 15-3 but Gustavo took the second set 11-9.

The Nigerian number one ranked player went on to clinch the fourth set 11-7 to keep the score level at 2-2.

Gustavo, however, claimed the third, fifth and sixth sets 11-6, 11-7 and 11-6 respectively to cut short Aruna’s dream of surpassing his last outing of quarter-final appearance at the Olympics.

Quadri’s elimination also means all the Nigerian representatives in table tennis —  including Funke Oshonaike, Offiong Edem, and Olajide Omotayo — have been knocked out from the Olympics.

Aruna made his third appearance at the Tokyo Olympics, having featured in London 2012 and Rio 2016 previously.

He qualified for the games on the basis of his rating, according to the June 2021 ITTF Olympic qualification ranking.

He became the first African in history of the Olympic games to make it to the quarterfinal stage of the singles event in Rio five years ago.