2023wtt The Doha Men’s Finals has begun, and all the men’s singles 1/8 finals have been played.
Six players from the National Table Tennis Team participated in the first round. Except for Lin Shidong who was eliminated, five other players such as Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, etc. advanced to the quarterfinals. The other three players who advanced to the quarterfinals are Aruna, Tomokazu Harimoto, and Qiu Dang.
Among the players who advanced to the quarterfinals, Aruna's situation is the most special. He is an African player, the conditions are very difficult, and it is not easy to advance to the quarterfinals.
Aruna is a Nigerian football player. The development of table tennis in Africa is relatively slow. There are not many people playing table tennis and there are very few professional coaches. Under such harsh circumstances, Aruna was able to maintain a very high competitive state and achieved very dazzling results in international competitions.
In 2014, Aruna was named the Best Male Athlete of the Year by the ITTF.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Aruna reached the singles quarterfinals, creating history for African table tennis players. He suddenly became Africa's No. 1 brother. In December 2021, in the WTT World Cup in Singapore, Aruna shocked the table tennis world by defeating Liang Jingkun 3-1. In the wtt Doha Star Challenge in March 2022, Aruna defeated Zhou Qihao 3-0 and advanced to the men's singles semi-finals. At the WTT Singapore Grand Slam in March 2023, Aruna swept Tomokazu Harimoto 3-0 and advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals. In September 2023, Aruna won the men's singles championship at the African Table Tennis Championships.
Aruna is very skilled in the game, but he has no off-field guidance during the game. When the game was suspended, he could only analyze countermeasures alone. Some people are curious, why Aruna is not worthy of a coach? In fact, it's not that he doesn't want a coach, but that he doesn't have the conditions.
Due to economic conditions and the local development of table tennis, there are few professional table tennis coaches in Africa. Aruna does not have a full-time coach, so he can only hire a coach at his own expense to help him improve his level. In normal competitions, he pays out of his own pocket and goes out to compete at his own expense. In order to reduce expenses, he will not have a coach. Therefore, during the pause, Aruna is self-regulating. Aruna has other nicknames: "The Lone Warrior in Table Tennis" and "The Lone Ranger".
Under the harsh conditions, Aruna disciplined himself alone, trained hard, and maintained a very high competitive state. He can enter the top ten in the world rankings. Aruna and Malone are the same age. It is very rare that Aruna, who is 35 years old, can still maintain such a high level of competition, and is therefore deeply loved by fans. Players also admire Aruna.
Aruna has been selected for the 2023 wtt men's finals. In the first round of the men's singles match, Aruna faced Hugo, the first American brother.
Hugo won the first two games 11:7 and 11:2. Just when everyone thought Hugo could sweep Aruna 3-0, Aruna adjusted himself in time and gave it a try. He won three games in a row with 11:9, 12:10, and 12:10, winning 3-2. Hugo advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals and staged a great comeback.
During the game, the two teamed up to contribute the best ball in the first round. The two played 23 consecutive boards, but Hugo made a mistake and knocked the ball away. The two had both high-quality offense, tenacious defense, defensive counterattacks, and extremely difficult saves. It was very exciting. No wonder it was voted the best ball of the day by the organizers.
Aruna was interviewed after the game. Aruna said with emotion that as an African player, it is a great blessing for him to participate in such an event, but it is also stressful. When he fell behind in the first two games, the coach encouraged him in time, which gave him motivation and turned the situation around.
Aruna continued, never give up, fight, fight again. Coaching plays a big role. The coach kept encouraging him and asking him not to give up. Aruna did it, didn't give up, and won the game.
Aruna was so excited that the African Eagle shed tears.
Aruna thanked the coach again and again. In fact, he also announced to the outside world that he also has a coach. This was unimaginable before. In the
1/4 finals, Aruna faced national table tennis player Fan Zhendong. No matter what the result is, I hope they can have a wonderful game.
