Quadri, who is representing Nigeria at the Championship,
defeated the world number eight player, Liang Jingkun of China to 3-1 (7–11,
11-1, 14-12,11-5) in round 16 of the men’s singles event to qualify for the
quarter finals.
Quadri is the first African player to get to the quarter finals
at the ongoing championship, rising to become the world number 13th player.
He ascribed his performance to hard work and dedication.
“I kept fighting and I did not give up. I tried my best and
it worked out for me in the end. I think my positive mindset also contributed
to my performance.
“I am very happy and excited, I think I’m just so lucky in
this match, everyone is so tired from the championships in Houston.
“I could see he was tired also, so I kept my cool, and it
actually worked for me.
“I put several balls to the table and he made a lot of
errors,” he said.
Having lost the first game 7-11 to trail 1-0 in the game,
Aruna began the second set on a high note, winning 11 straight points to
swiftly even the game 11-1 for 1-1.
Unlike his Chinese opponent who had the technical support of
his coach, Quadri had no technical support in his corner.
He, however, drew motivation from the support he got from
Nigerian fans and others from around the world.
“This win is for all my fans and everyone back home in
Nigeria and Africa.
“I always believed that If I was selected to be here that
meant I had what was needed to play.
“I was not under any kind of pressure, I just wanted to play
my game and be myself,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian
will face Brazil’s Hugo Calderano in quarterfinal, after the Brazilian defeated
China’s Lin Gaoyuan 3-0 in round of 16.
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