Nigeria’s table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, suffered a disappointing early exit at the WTT Star Contender Chennai in India. Aruna, ranked 19th in the world, lost 3-0 to Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-Hsin, the world No. 58, in the round of 32 on Friday ¹.
The 22-year-old Yi-Hsin secured his first win against the highest-ranked African player in the world, winning 13-11, 11-8, 11-8. This was their maiden encounter, and Yi-Hsin’s victory marked a significant upset in the tournament.
Aruna, 36, had received a bye into the round of 32, while Yi-Hsin had dispatched Belgium’s Adrien Rassenfosse 3-0 in just 20 minutes to emerge as Aruna’s opponent. Despite this setback, Aruna has had a notable run in WTT events this year, reaching the semi-finals in the WTT Star Contender in Doha, where he lost to Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Omar Assar, the 2025 African Cup champion, began his campaign with a convincing victory in the men’s singles. Assar, seeded No. 5, received a bye to the second round and showcased his skills against Hong Kong’s Kwan Man Ho, winning 4-11, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10. He will face the winner between South Korea’s Oh Junsung and Hong Kong’s Chan Baldwin in the third round.
Other notable upsets in the tournament include 16-year-old Flavien Coton of France defeating No. 9 seed Alvaro Robles of Spain, and local hero Manika Batra suffering a round of 32 exit at the hands of 21-year-old Huang Yu-Jie ².
Aruna Quadri suffers early exit at WTT Chennai
