Aruna Quadri starts WTT Singapore Smash with a win

The African Table Tennis Champion, Quadri Aruna, started his journey at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Open with a victory.

Aruna escaped an early scare in the men’s singles at the Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBC Arena.

He defeated Germany’s Ruwen Filus, 3-2 (14-12, 6-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-9) in a classic battle between attack and defense.

The win ensured that Aruna roared his way to the second round, Aruna will face French teenager Alexis Lebrun.

The African champion admitted that Ruwen Filus is a tough opponent.

Filus and Aruna were teammates in the German Bundesliga Table Tennis League for two years.

He said, "It was 5-1 (to him), and then 7-2, and suddenly I won five points in a row. That was a very good comeback, and I was focusing because six or seven years ago I experienced almost the same situation against him, and I knew it was not over until it’s over. I kept my cool, I kept playing, and in the end, he made a few errors, and that made a big difference.

"It's not just that he was a tough opponent, we were together in the same team (in the German Bundesliga) for about two years, and he knows me very well. I believe it was 50-50 before the game, and as we have seen, it was 11-9 in the fifth game."

Former African Champion, Omar Assar, is the first African to suffer a casualty at the Singapore Smash, he was beaten by Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia 3-0.

Hana Goda and Mariam Alhodaby also tasted defeat against their German and Japanese opponents.

Hina Hayata, the world no. 6 and the Japanese national champion, faced off against Alhodaby, the 2021 African champion, and the Asian star prevailed 3-1. (11-3, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6).

However, Dina Meshref of Egypt edged out the home girl with a 3-1 win in the first round.