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ITTF Africa Championships: Injury knocks Out Aruna From Men’s Singles

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Tournament No. 2 seed, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has been forced to withdraw from the Men’s Singles event at the 2024 ITTF Africa Championships in Addis Ababa due to a thigh injury and fatigue.

Despite leading Nigeria to a gold medal in the team event against Algeria on October 14, Aruna had to pull out of his second-round match against Benin Republic’s Dodji Fanny.

Aruna explained, “I’ve been playing in various tournaments for the past two months, often in different time zones. I was in India, Macau, China, and then Saudi Arabia for league matches. After a brief rest at home, I went to the French League for a training camp. Immediately after, I travelled to Ethiopia, which was exhausting. The high altitude in Addis Ababa made it even harder to acclimatize.”

He added, “During the team event, I felt pain in my buttock and tightness in my hamstring. It’s crucial to rest now to avoid worsening the injury.”

With several tournaments still ahead this year, including two more WTT Champions and leagues in Saudi Arabia and France, Aruna emphasized the importance of recovery. “I need to rest to ensure I don’t aggravate the injury,” he said.

Aruna will stay with the team to support the younger players and will depart Addis Ababa with them this weekend.

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Wahid Enitan Oshodi Elected As ATTF President

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Nigeria’s Wahid Enitan Oshodi has been unanimously elected as the 6th President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) during the Elective Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Oshodi becomes the second Nigerian to lead the continental body, following Engr Segun George, who served from 1988 to 1996.

Oshodi, currently the Executive Vice President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), will succeed Egypt’s Khaled El-Salhy, who completed three terms (2010-2024) as ATTF President.

The 40-member electorate’s unanimous support for Oshodi reflects overwhelming delegate confidence in his leadership for the next four years.

With this election, Oshodi stands as the only Nigerian heading a continental sports organization.

Cameroon’s Alfred Bagueka was also unanimously elected as the Deputy President of ATTF.

Additionally, Germain Karou and Andrew Mudibo were elected as Executive Vice Presidents (EVP) for Technical and Development, respectively.

The positions for EVP Administration, Finance, Media/PR, and Marketing saw keen competition among candidates from Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Mauritania, and Uganda. For EVP Marketing, Ghana’s Mawuko Afadzinu triumphed over Uganda’s Robert Jjagwe with 22 votes to 18. Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Bizane won EVP Media/PR with 29 votes.

South Africa’s Hajera Kajee secured EVP Finance with 20 votes, and Egypt’s Moataz Ashour won EVP Administration with 32 votes.

The Regional Vice Presidents elected include Benin Republic’s Ferdinand Sounou (West)

Congo’s Christian Wonga (Central), Libya’s Gallel Amadeddin (North), South Africa’s Joe Carrim (South), Djibouti’s Mohmoud Omir (East).

From the 15 candidates that contested for the ITTF Council, outgoing ATTF President Khaled El-Salhy joined seven others to secure continental tickets to the world body. Joining El-Salhy in the eight-member council are Nigeria’s Olabanji Oladapo, Botswana’s Kudzanani Motswagole, Benin Republic’s Ferdinand Sounou, Cameroon’s Alfred Bagueka, South Africa’s Joe Carrim, Tunisia’s Jalem Zayati, and Uganda’s Thomas Kiggundu.

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Hatton clinches Alfred Dunhill Links Title With Birdie On 18th

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England’s Tyrrell Hatton has secured the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title for a third time, clinching it by a shot via a birdie on the 18th hole of the final round at St Andrews.

Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts had been neck-and-neck with Hatton through the day, as both went to the 18th level on 23 under, but Hatton holed out to clinch the seventh DP World Tour success of his career and a hat-trick in this event following his victories in 2016 and 2017.

In doing so, the 32-year-old becomes the first player to win the tournament on three occasions, and now sits at No 20 in the world rankings.

Hatton’s English compatriot Tommy Fleetwood finished third on 21 under.

On the 18th, Colsaerts putted to eight feet and missed his own birdie attempt, leaving Hatton a chance for victory after he had chipped to four feet, which the Englishman took with aplomb.

Hatton, who plays on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf circuit, shot two-under 70 and was 24-under-par overall – tying the tournament record he held from 2017.

It is Hatton’s first DP World Tour win since 2021 in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Colsaerts, who also shot 70, was looking to win on the tour for the first time in five years.

“It feels good. It’s the first time I’ve actually won the tournament with my dad here, so it means a lot,” Hatton told Sky Sports Golf.

“To do it at the home of golf is really special. I’m trying not to cry to be honest. I’m lost for words.

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Gauff Wins First WTA Title In Nine Months With China Open Triumph s

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Coco Gauff won her first WTA Tour title since January with a straight-sets victory in the China Open final against Karolina Muchova.

Gauff took three weeks off from tennis after she surprisingly lost in the fourth round of the US Open at the start of September but has played some of her best tennis in Beijing over the last week.

She had the upper hand over Muchova for most of the final to race to a 6-1 6-3 win and secure her biggest triumph since that memorable maiden Grand Slam title in New York over a year ago.

“It’s almost like a Grand Slam as the facilities are great. This is as good as it gets,” said Gauff, who has made the perfect start to life with new coaches Jean-Christophe Faurel and Matt Daly after she parted ways with Brad Gilbert following this year’s US Open.

“I would like to thank the fans. Almost every match has been filled to the brim, so thank you guys for supporting women’s tennis.”

Watched on by her parents, Gauff was hitting the ball more harder and more accurately from the get-go than her opponent as she took a 2-0 and 3-1 lead.

The American won three consecutive games and continued to serve well, winning 94 per cent of points on her first serve, to wrap up the first set in half an hour.

Muchova surprisingly broke Gauff early in the second set to go 2-0 ahead, but lost the next four games and soon trailed 4-3.

Another comfortable hold and a break of serve from Gauff gave her an eighth career WTA Tour title, having only lost one final since turning professional as a 14-year-old in 2018.

Gauff will turn her attention to the Wuhan Open, where she will be in action mid-week. Britain’s Katie Boulter and top seed Aryna Sabalenka will also be competing in the WTA 1000 tournament.

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