TheCable

Aruna Quadri caused the biggest upset of the ITTF Africa Senior Cup competition after beating defending champion and number one seed, Egypt’s El-Sayed Lashin 4-2 in the semi-final match of the men’s singles.

The encounter attracted some fans to the multi-purpose sports complex in Yaounde with both players thrilling them with their superb performance.

To win the match, though, Quadri had to dig deep to outfox Lashin at 11-8,10-12,9-11,11-9,4-11,8-11.

An exhausted Quadri said it was tough for him beating Lashin as both players play in same style.

“It was always a tough encounter between the two of us because he has defeated me more times and we both play same style. I had difficulty initially even the sixth game I was leading 7-2 for him to level up at 7-7, so it was a tough win,” he said.

“I take each game as they come and I will not underrate anyone as I intend to give my 100 percent in all matches.”

He will now face the winner between Egypt’s Omar Assar and Mohammed El-Beiali in the final.

However, Olufunke Oshonaike settled for bronze after losing 4-1 to Nadeen El-Dawlatly in the semi-final of the women’s singles, while number one seed, Egypt’s Dina Meshref defeated Algeria’s Islem Laid 4-0 in the second semi-final tie.

The teams’ event will commence on Friday.

Thirteen teams made of seven male clubs and six female clubs across the continent will begin hostilities with Union Bank Sports Club the sole representative of Nigeria in the men’s event.