The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has celebrated the feat achieved by Nigeria’s table tennis star, Aruna Quadri, for being the first Africa to be named the 2014 best table tennis player in world.
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 stride 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-based of Quadri with focus on his training schedule and league matches for GD Toledos. The focus also included his family and his challenges as a player, who defied all odds to become one of the best in the world.
Several reactions have trailed the feature on BBC, by notable table tennis figures, such as the President of ITTF, Thomas Weikert, who described Quadri as a pride to Africa.
According to the 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,”.
While an elated President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi 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 in the continent,” Oshodi concluded.
