Nigeria’s top table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, made a premature exit from the 2025 WTT Star Contender in Ljubljana, Slovenia, after a hard-fought round of 32 loss to Japan’s Shunsuke Togami.
Ranked 14th and seeded accordingly, Aruna entered the tournament with a first-round bye and high expectations as Africa’s highest-ranked player. However, he was unable to find his rhythm against the resilient Togami, who is ranked 30th in the world.
Despite a spirited effort, Aruna was edged out 3–2 in a tense five-game battle (8–11, 11–9, 11–7, 5–11, 11–5), ending his campaign at the Hala Tivoli earlier than anticipated, while Togami moved on to the round of 16.
