Quadri ‘adapting’ to level of play in Germany, elated about return of spectators

Nigerian table tennis superstar, Aruna Quadri has lamented his slow pace in adapting to the level of play in Germany.

The 32-year-old has been leading TTC RhönSprudel Maberzell Fulda in the Table Tennis Bundesliga and is yet to find his feet in the league.

But Quadri, who switched to the German Bundesliga from Portugal at the start of this season, believes he will be able to play at the level soon.

“It is still very difficult for me to adapt to the level of play in Germany,” he said in an interview with the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) media.

Read Also: TABLE TENNIS: Aruna Quadri leads Africa to 2020 World Cup

“But I firmly believe that I will be able to do that very soon. The Bundesliga is really strong and challenging. I think the chance of winning is always around 50:50.”

Quadi has however welcomed with excitement the development of having spectators return to the games in Germany, as he points their absence as one of the factors affecting his play.

“One shortcoming was certainly having to play some games without spectators, like in Bad Königshofen and Düsseldorf.

“That is not satisfactory for me; the morale was not the same as in an audience game. Spectators are very important to me, which is an additional incentive for me,” he added.

Quadri will be playing at the ITTF World Cup tournament in China next month, and the highly ranked players said he is looking to “improve my performance and be a good ambassador” for Nigeria.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now