Nigeria’s table tennis star, Aruna Quadri, will hope to end his losing streak to Japanese Tomikazu Harimoto when they clash in round 16 of the men’s singles of the 2023 WTT Singapore Smash on Thursday.
The reigning African champion defeated French teen Alexis Lebrun 3-2 after rallying from a set down at the Singapore Sports Hub’s OCBC Arena on Tuesday.
Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto also booked his place in the round of 16 after coming back from two sets down to win 3-2 (8-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-3) against Can Akkuzu.
Although Harimoto has beaten the Nigerian in their last three meetings, the African champ will be hoping for a favourable result in their fourth meeting.
Incidentally, all of their last three meetings have been in the round of 16 of different competitions and the Japanese emerged victorious in all.
If Quadri overcomes Harimoto in today’s match, he will then face the winner of Hugo Calderano vs. Darko Jorgic in the next round of the competition.
“It was a very good comeback win for me and I want to keep the momentum and hopefully advance to the next round of the tournament,” Quadri said after his victory.
“It is always difficult playing against Harimoto because he is a very fast player. It’s not just that he is a tough opponent, he is a good player who is capable of winning as well.
“But having played him twice at a big stage like this, I think I will try my best to bring him down this time around because it’s a 50-50 match for both of us, anybody can win.
“In this tournament, every player has an equal chance to win the title because we are all at the same level regardless of your world ranking. I am happy with my performance and I hope I can do more.”
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