Paris 2024 Olympics: Aruna Quadri gives up 3-0 lead to lose 4-3!

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri gave up a 3-0 lead to lose to Eduard Ionescu of Romania in their round of 64 clash of the Table Tennis event of the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Nigerians, playing in his fourth Olympics, won the first three sets 11-8, 11-9, 11-6. The 35 year old however lost the momentum and lost the next four to the Romanian 11-8, 11-10, 11-9 and 13-11.

Aruna’s bid of making history as the first African man to win a Table Tennis medal at the Olympics has now ended.

He came close to making that history eight years ago in Rio de Janeiro when he lost at the quarterfinal stage to world number one and eventual champion, Ma Long.

Aruna has now joined Olajide Omotayo in crashing out of the singles event after the later lost 4-1 to Iranian, Alamiyan Noshad 4-1.

Omotayo won the first set 11-6, raising hopes of him securing his first win on his second attempt at the Games but Noshad, competing in his third Olympics showed his class and experience by winning the next four games 11-5, 11-4, 12-10 and 11-8.