March 13, (THEWILL) – Quadri Aruna continues to be Africa’s highest-ranked table tennis player following the 13th African Games in 2024. The 35-year-old Nigerian solidified his position at World number 11 in the latest release of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings.
Despite losing the men’s singles gold medal to Egypt’s Omar Assar at the African Games, Aruna remains the first African player to crack the top 10 world rankings. He was previously named ITTF Star Player of the Year in 2014.
Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw and Nigeria’s Offiong Edem made significant strides in the latest world rankings. Diaw jumped 26 places to number 67, while Edem rose an impressive 45 spots to become the highest-ranked Nigerian woman at number 97 globally.
African Games champion Assar, who beat Aruna, stays at number 22. The North African nation continues its dominance in women’s table tennis with Dina Meshref (World number 26) and Hana Goda (World number 30) leading the continental rankings.
Other top African players include Nigeria’s Bode Abiodun (66) and Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh (70) in the men’s rankings, along with Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou (115) in the women’s list.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
