Quadri Aruna brings a lot of excitement with his aggressive forehand top-spins, forehand spins and majestic presence while competing.
The 36-year-old from Nigeria, the world’s highest-ranked player in the Ultimate Table Tennis league in Chennai at number 20, will be one of the star players, who will do so with enthusiasm.
He has many firsts – the first African to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics (2016, Rio), the first African to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championships (Tunis, 2021), and the first from Africa to enter the World’s. top 10 (2022).
Quadri has not lost energy and enthusiasm in his quest to return to the top 10. In this interview, the Nigerian spoke about the growth of India in TT, and why the country is not much in sports, among other things. Quote:
Aruna, your first visit to Chennai was during the first edition of UTT in 2017. You represented the Stag Yoddhas team (now defunct). Can you jog memories?
It was a good moment for me to play for the first time in UTT. I am happy and excited. The field was strong and some top players participated.
Between now and then, you will be playing with many Indians on many occasions.
It is always difficult to play against India. Actors such as Sharath Kamal, G. Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai are all good. We have seen many improvements thanks to the huge investment made in TT by the Government. It has materialized on the world stage for India. In any kind of tournament, they are contenders. We witnessed in the Paris Olympics when Indian women did well. This is my fourth visit to UTT. My experience has been very positive. Actually, India and Nigeria have similar culture. Playing at UTT is always fun.
In the previous edition, U Mumba could not make it to the play-offs. What do you expect from this edition?
Even last year I was with U Mumba. The treatment is good. It feels like family. Representing the same team again makes me happy. The management has confidence and trust in me. I’ve put it all down to what happened last season. We just want to do better.
You have played in various clubs around the world. What differences do you find between them and UTT?
The format here is very difficult. The system does not benefit anyone. It’s like 50:50. You have to start well. If you lose two matches (lost in men’s and women’s singles), it’s hard to bounce back from a 0-2 loss. You can’t say that you can win. There is a lot of pressure.
What are the expectations of your team?
In almost every team, there is some kind of balance. I already told you that the format is difficult. We have a strong team. There is Manav Thakkar, Akash Pal, who are young talents. I hope we can do better. We are together as a team.
At the Paris Olympics, one of the best paddlers in the world Ma Long retired. How is your relationship with him?
Ma Long is the greatest player of all time. He is a role model. We will surely miss him. Probably, I will play doubles with him. It was a blessing to see him play. I played against him in the singles quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics 2016. We exchanged shirts after the match. He is an extraordinary personality.
You have played in four Olympics from 2012 London to 2024 Paris. This time, you made it out the first round. What happened?
That’s the beauty of sports that makes it so much fun. I was leading by 3 games to nil when my opponent (Eduard Ionescu from Romania) made a fight. They came back to win the next four games. It is the biggest sporting event. You can’t say I lost my concentration. Opponents fight. I was 3-8 down in the seventh and deciding game. I fought back to 10-9, but then won 13-11. I can only say it was not meant to be.
Generally, players give importance to H2H (head to head record) before the match. How are you? Do you believe in H2H?
For many, H2H is very important. For me, it doesn’t matter. There is still fresh hope, a new day, a new enemy to fight. I must have lost five times to Harimoto Tomakazu from Japan and Lin Yun-Ju (Chinese Taipei). But last year, I beat Harimoto in Singapore and beat Lin in Slovenia. The message is clear: don’t give up. Always include the past and that’s what makes sports great.
You were in the top 10 in the world from 2022 and have dropped to 20. What happened?
Nothing is impossible. I can be in the top 10 in 3-4 months. I was injured for a while. It’s hard to be on top. I have to keep believing in myself.
How was last season for you?
I started at the WTT finals in Doha where I reached the quarter finals. Then at WTT Star Contender in Goa, I made it to the last eight. There were some big moments.
For almost three decades, Nigeria’s seven-time Olympian Segun Toriola has been a great inspiration to the nation. Is he still in the sport?
It’s great that there are still people like him. He is my coach and has taught me a lot. Having him as a coach is a blessing.
How has Nigerian table tennis evolved over time since you progressed to become a world-class player?
We have some talented players. It is about the financial aspect in Nigeria that is a problem. India, on the other hand, has invested a lot of money in sports. The Federation (TT Federation of Nigeria) barely got the approved budget. There is huge corruption in our country. We have a hard time finding even two players on the WTT tour.
What can be done to improve the situation?
Financially, we can definitely improve. We need money to host training camps, provide food, equipment and funding for players. If more money is invested, we can do better.
You have traveled to different countries and played in several clubs around the world. How to explore different clubs?
yes already. It’s great to meet new people, learn new cultures. I have been to Portugal, France, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the Bundesliga. It has become part of the player’s life to learn and explore.
World Table Tennis fined $5000 for failing to enter the World team championships in February this year and the WTT Champions in March? What do you have to say?
I really believe that WTT has framed bad rules. They make very valuable things for the players. Table tennis was once expensive when the ITTF was involved. There are many players on the world tour.
Everyone loses money on the WTT tour. Nothing has changed. When you can’t play, you have to pay a lot. Everyone complains, but no one is confident enough to come out and talk about it. I get a salary from my club. Only when I get salary, I can pay WTT. I have told WTT before that I cannot participate in Worlds and World Champions. I have approached the ITTF Tribunal to resolve the matter. The case is pending. I am willing to go to CAS if I don’t get justice.
