Nigeria’s top-ranked table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, will captain the Nigerian contingent at the 2025 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals, set to take place from May 17 to 25 at the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha.
Drawing on the ITTF Week 18 World Rankings (published April 29), Aruna enters the men’s singles event as the 20th seed, ensuring he leads all African players in the bracket. The official draw ceremony on April 30 confirmed his position in the top half of the draw, where he’ll face a mix of rising stars and established contenders in a straight knockout format.
Beyond singles, the World Championships will feature five events—Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s and Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles—with 32 seeds and 96 unseeded slots filling out each 128-player singles draw. Doubles events will mirror this structure with 16 seeded pairs in a 64-team bracket.
As Africa’s premier male player, Aruna leads a delegation that includes fellow continental standout Egypt’s Hana Goda (27th seed in women’s singles). With Qatar having previously hosted WTT Star Contender events, the stage is set for Aruna to build on his quarterfinal appearance at the 2016 Rio Olympics and pursue Nigeria’s first medal in World Championships history.
Quadri Aruna leadership of the squad reflects not only his personal achievements but also Nigeria’s growing ambition on the global table tennis stage. Fans back home will be watching closely as Aruna aims to break new ground for his country in Doha.
