Aruna reclaims top spot as Nigerian leaps to 17th in ITTF Ranking

Less than two months after surrendering the top spot in the continental ranking, Quadri Aruna has reclaimed his place after leaping to 17th place in Week 22 of the 2024 ITTF Ranking released on Tuesday, May 28 by the world table tennis ruling body.

However, Egypt’s Omar Assar slipped to 22 in the world rating after occupying the top spot in Africa in the last two months following his triumph at the last African Games in Ghana.

Aruna, who recently reclaimed the ITTF Africa Cup in Rwanda this month, rose by two steps up the ranking ladder to become the highest rated African in the world.

Assar’s drop in the world ranking was due to the expiration of the quarterfinal points he garnered at the Durban 2023 World Championships in South Africa, and this automatically made him lose some points that prompted his fall in the ranking.

While others are dropping from the pecking order of ranking, Aruna’s points remain static, and the freefall of others prompted his rise in the world ranking.

Africa’s biggest movers in May, Mohamed El-Beiali, who became the third-best-ranked player in the continent after finishing as runner-up at the 2024 ITTF Africa Cup after a 4-0 loss to Aruna in Kigali, dropped to 49th in the world rating.

Despite dropping by a step, Egypt’s Dina Meshref held on to the top echelon of Africa as the 24th best player in the world.

Meshref’s compatriot, Hana Goda, remained static as the best rated African in the world, ranked 31st in the world.

Following the conclusion of all continental quotas for the Olympic Games, players are now eager to pick up their tickets to Paris through the world ranking, which will be in force on June 11 as ITTF concludes the list of participants at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.