For the first time in their last three meetings, Quadri Aruna had an easy win over world’s best modern table tennis defender Ruwen Filus of Germany in the second round of the men’s singles at the WTT Star Contender Goa in India.
Quadri who got a bye to the second round as the one of the top seeds had defeated the German twice in their last meeting before Friday’s meeting in Goa and the Nigerian was at his best against his former teammate in the German Bundesliga with a dominant performance that thrilled the Indian fans.
The $250,000 prize money tournament attracted top players across the globe except the Chinese players who are shaping up for next month’s World Team Championships in Busan, South Korea.
As the only surviving African in the tournament after the exit of Omar Assar earlier in the day, Aruna came prepared into the game ensuring that he put the right foot forward in all the games and this he followed up throughout the encounter.
Even when he was missing some shots, he never stopped hitting his opponents from all angles of the table and this aided him from the start of the match to the end.
From the first game, he led throughout to win at 11-8. Even when he was trailing in the second game, he never stopped hitting the ball with his trademark forehand shots to claim another 12-10 win in the second game.
From the start of the third game, the German led from the start until when Aruna took over and he led throughout to win at 11-7 to complete his 3-0 rout of Filus to hold a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head records.
Next in line for Aruna on Saturday is French teenage Alexis Lebrun who is yet to defeat the Nigerian in any tournament.