Less than two months after losing the top spot in the continental ranking, Quadri Aruna has reclaimed his position, climbing to 17th place in the latest ITTF rankings released on Tuesday by the world table tennis governing body. Aruna, who recently won the ITTF Africa Cup in Rwanda earlier this month, ascended by two steps to become the highest-rated African player in the world.
Egypt’s Omar Assar, who had previously surpassed Aruna, dropped to 22nd in the world rankings after holding the top spot in Africa for the last two months following his victory at the African Games in Ghana. Assar’s drop was attributed to the expiration of the quarter-finals points he earned at the Durban 2023 World Championships in South Africa, causing him to lose points and fall in the rankings.
In other notable movements, Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali became the third-best-ranked player on the continent and 49th in the world after finishing as a runner-up at the 2024 ITTF Africa Cup, where he lost 4-0 to Aruna in Kigali. Despite a slight drop, Egypt’s Dina Meshref retained her status as the highest-ranked African female player, positioned 24th in the world. Her compatriot, Hana Goda, remained static at 31st in the global rankings.
Following the conclusion of all continental quotas for the Olympic Games, players are now focusing on securing their tickets to Paris through the world ranking. The ITTF will finalize the list of participants for the 2024 Olympic Games in France based on the rankings as of June 11.
