Aruna drops to 14th in ITTF ranking
Though still Africa’s number one, Quadri Aruna has dropped to the 14th spot in the latest ITTF ranking released by the world table tennis ruling body.
But Nigeria’s best-ranked female player in the world, Edem Offiong gained valuable points for her participation in the just concluded WTT Singapore Smash to rise to 98 from 99th spot.
For finishing in the round of 32 of the Men’s Singles after a closed 3-1 loss to Olympic and World Champion Ma Long of China, Aruna amassed some ranking points but this did not prevent him from being displaced by Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic, China’s Wang Chuqin, and Germany’s Patrick Franziska.
Ranked 11th before the latest rating, the Nigerian still maintained his status as best rated African in the world while Egypt’s Omar Assar also dropped to 26 from 27 in the ranking.
READ ALSO: Quadri Aruna Falls To China’s Long At WTT Singapore Smash
Egypt’s Dina Meshref also held on to the top status in Africa despite dropping to 38 from 37 in the world ranking.
With the conclusion of the season opener, Singapore Smash 2022 at the weekend, China’s Fan Zhendong tightened his clutch on the world number No.1 spot while his compatriot Chen Meng reclaimed the top berth from Sun Yingsha following her victory in the women’s singles at the inaugural event
Meanwhile, European players such as Slovenia’s Jorgic and Austria’s Sofia Polcanova record their career-best ranking after the big show in Singapore.
The in-form Zhendong headed into the Singapore Smash with the men’s singles crowns from the World Table Tennis Championships and WTT Cup Finals Singapore 2021 and continued his winning ways clinching the title for the men’s doubles event at Singapore Smash with teammate Wang Chuqin.
The 25-year-old was impressive with his fight back in the tightly-contested men’s singles final. His success in Singapore sees his lead in the ranking stretch to 3794 points ahead of compatriot and familiar rival, Ma Long.
TheNation/Nnenna.O
