For being the first Africa to be named the 2014 best table tennis player in world, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has celebrated the feat achieved by Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri.
A focus on the award-winning athlete was featured in the recent Focus on Africa sports programme.
Quadri, who recently signed for a French top division club after five seasons in the Portuguese elite league with a lot of laurels in his kitty was lauded for his giant strides in 2014 and the first non-Asian and European to achieve such in the second edition of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Award held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Aside being named the Star Player, he also scooped the Star Point of the Year award beating other top players across the world to the title.
The three minutes was filmed at the Portugal base of Quadri with focus on his training schedule and league matches for GD Toledos.
There was also focus on his family and his challenges as a player who defied all odds to become one of the best in the world.
The feature on BBC was also hailed by the President of ITTF, Thomas Weikert, describing Quadri as a pride to Africa.
For Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ITTF, Judit Farago, this is a plus to the sport globally.
“I woke up in Lausanne and switched on BBC World News in my hotel room. The first report I saw was Aruna Quadri’s portrait! Cannot imagine better start of a day,” said Farago.
President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi was so excited that he said he is proud of Quadri.
“I felt so proud when I saw it because no table tennis player from Africa has been featured like that on BBC. This is good for promotion of the sport on the continent,” Oshodi said.
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