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Quadri Aruna made an African history on Wednesday following his progression to the Round of 16 of the men's singles at the 2023 WTT Singapore Smash.
A stunning fightback to beat French rising star, Alexis Lebrun 3-2 (8-11,11-8,11-5,7-11,11-7) saw the Nigerian become the first African to made it to the last 16 of the championships.
The African Table Tennis champions had started his journey at the World Table Tennis Singapore Open with a victory, defeating Germany's Ruwen Filus, 3-2 (14-12, 6-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-9).
The opening win set up Quadri for a Round of 32 date with French teenager Alexis Lebrun at the Singapore Sports Hub's OCBC Arena, where he triumphed.
Following his victory over Frenchman Lebrun, Quadri will be up against Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto on Thursday March 16, and he will be in search of his first ever career win against the Japanese.
“It is always difficult playing against Harimoto because he is a very fast player but having played him twice at big stage like this, I think I will try my best to bring him down this time around because it is a 50-50 match for both of us as anybody can win," the veteran Table Tennis star said after his Round of 32 victory.
"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."
Earlier, former African Champion, Omar Assar, was 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).
