by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Nevertheless, although understandably disappointed, Quadri Aruna was philosophical about his ventures in the German city.

He spoke to Olalekan Okusan, the Press Officer for the African Table Tennis Federation.

 “I think my performance at the World Cup was not too bad because I really gave a good fight but I was not lucky enough to go out of group. I had chances which I failed to utilize and this really cost me the two losses.

Before the tournament, I really worked harder but sometimes you don’t get the results of hard work immediately. I believe that better days are ahead. I have given my whole ability in Germany and I hope to bounce back positively in subsequent tournaments.

It is true that the results in Germany will affect my world ranking but I am not bothered about the ranking as there are more events in future which I could amass points to shore up my world rating again as I will keep working hard.

I can say that I keep learning tournament after tournament, all players are working harder just like I am also working hard. The lessons that I learned in Germany remain personal to me and I will surely work on these mistakes and bounce back positively in future tournaments.”