Aruna begins African Cup title defence
Nigeria table tennis star and African Cup men’s singles defending champion, Quadri Aruna, is in Group 2 of the men’s singles event and will begin his title defence against Salifou Abdel-Kader of the Benin Republic and Sabhi Myshaal of Tunisia, as the 2025 tournament serves off in Tunisia on Tuesday (today).
Aruna, a five-time winner is among the continent’s best table tennis players who are set to clash at the El-Menzah Sports Hall in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia.
They are competing for prestigious continental titles and coveted tickets to the ITTF World Cup. Semi-finalists at the championship will earn their places on the flight to Macao, China, in April.
In the men’s singles, 29 players will compete for four coveted spots in the global tournament in China, while 21 players will vie for the four tickets in the women’s singles.
Aruna and Egypt’s Dina Meshref (women’s title holder) face a herculean task to retain their titles against formidable opponents eager to dethrone them at the beautiful El-Menzah Sports Hall.
Aruna aims for his sixth title alongside Egypt’s Omar Assar, who is also targeting his sixth laurel in Tunis. They will contend with rising stars like Tunisia’s Wassim Essid, Nigeria’s Matthew Kuti, Cameroon’s Batix Ylane, and other experienced players already in Tunis.
Meshref, the most successful player in the competition, seeks to surpass her nine titles in Tunis.
However, she must elevate her game to maintain her dominance. Africa’s highest-ranked female player, Hana Goda of Egypt, will target her third title after dual victories in Lagos 2022 and Nairobi 2023.
While the two Egyptians may face off against each other at some stage of the competition, they must keep an eye out for other contenders seeking to rewrite the record books in Tunis through stunning upsets.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, and to strategically highlight ITTF-Africa’s corporate partners while celebrating excellence in table tennis, the continental body is introducing individual awards at ITTF-Africa events starting with the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup in Tunis.
