Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna on Monday began the new year with an improvement in the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) world ranking.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Aruna gained points in his quarterfinal finish at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Finals, which earned him the 14th position in the latest ITTF Ranking.

The African champion caused one of the biggest upsets at the WTT Finals, Doha 2023.

This was after he came from 0-2 down to beat world number five Hugo Calderano of Brazil 3-2 and book his place in the quarterfinals of the year-ending tournament held in Qatar.

Aruna, who was ranked 16th before the WTT Finals, gained 265 points after his quarter-final finish in Doha.

This improved his world rating points to 1,425, ahead of 15th-placed Darko Jorgic of Slovenia, who has 1,340 points.

Also, WTT has listed Aruna’s 2023 triumph over former world number five Tomokazu Harimoto among the five biggest upsets of the past year.

This was after the Nigerian stunned the Japanese 3-0 to reach the quarterfinal stage of the Singapore Smash in 2023.

“I am working hard this year so that I can achieve more success and continue to shoot up my ranking.

“This will enable me to secure my qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” Aruna was quoted on the WTT website as saying.

Meanwhile, Aruna has been listed alongside Egypt’s Omar Assar among the top 20 players who will start their campaign in the main draw of the 2024 WTT Star Contender.

The tournament, which kicked off on Monday with the preliminary round, will end on Saturday at the Lusail Sports Arena in Doha, Qatar, with a prize money of 250,000 dollars. (NAN)