Eko Hot Blog reports that Nigerian star Quadri Aruna has maintained his status as the highest-ranked African player in the world, occupying the 11th position in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings released on Tuesday.
These rankings come on the heels of the recently concluded table tennis event at the 13th African Games in Ghana.
While Aruna retained his continental top spot, Egypt’s Omar Assar, who clinched the African Games men’s singles title, rose to 22nd globally as the second highest-ranked African player.
However, one of the biggest movers in the rankings was Nigeria’s Offiong Edem, who gained an impressive 45 steps to reach the 97th position, making her the highest-ranked Nigerian female player in the world. Edem’s impressive rise comes after her bronze medal performance in the women’s singles event in Ghana.
Another notable climber was Algeria’s Lucie Mobarek, who was previously unranked but soared an incredible 544 steps to attain the 103rd position, becoming the highest-ranked Algerian female player globally.
Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, who won bronze in the men’s singles event, also saw his ranking improve by 26 steps, reaching the 67th spot.
Egypt’s Dina Meshref and Hana Goda maintained their status as the top-ranked African female players at 26 and 30, respectively.
In the men’s category, Egypt’s Khaled Assar gained 146 steps to be ranked 145th in the world after his impressive run to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles event at the African Games.
The Tunisian trio of Wassim Essid, Youssef Ben Attia, and Khalil Sta, who won bronze in the men’s team event, were among the biggest beneficiaries of the rankings update. Teenage sensation Essid climbed 83 steps to reach the 206th position, while Ben Attia and Sta gained 221 steps each, securing the 237th and 238th spots, respectively.
The updated ITTF rankings reflect the impact of the African Games on the global standings, with African players making significant strides and cementing their positions among the world’s elite table tennis athletes.
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