Quadri Aruna has suffered a major drop in the latest International Table Tennis Federation rankings, falling 20 places to 76th in the world and fourth in Africa.
The latest rankings mark Aruna’s biggest setback in more than a decade and the first time since 2014 that the Nigerian star has fallen outside the top two players on the continent.
For years, Aruna has been one of Africa’s dominant players alongside Egyptian rival Omar Assar, who remains Africa’s highest-ranked player at 31st in the world.
The Nigerian was overtaken by Egypt’s Youssef Abdel-Aziz, now ranked 57th globally and second in Africa, as well as Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa, who climbed to 75th in the world following his victory over Aruna in the semi-finals of the ITTF Africa Cup earlier this year.
Aruna currently sits just behind Bouloussa with 463 ranking points, while Assar leads the African standings with 1,009 points, underlining the Egyptian’s dominance at the top of the continent’s rankings.
