On the eve of his 28th birthday, Aruna Quadri gave himself a befitting gift after etching his name in the annals of Olympic Games history as the first African to play in the quarterfinal of the men’s singles of Rio Olympic Games following his 4-2 (12-10, 12-10, 11-5, 3-11, 5-11, 11-9) triumph over Germany’s Timo Boll in the fourth round match.
Ranked 40th in the world and considered as the 27 rated player at the Olympic Games, Quadri apart from setting a new record, Quadri caused two successive upsets with the victory over the German, who was a former world number one and now ranked 13 in the world.
Speaking after his victory over the former European champion, Quadri said: ““This is amazing, I don’t know what to say. My fans made me do this. Thank you for all the Brazilian spectators for their support. They gave me so much energy. This feels so good; it is a dream comes true that I am in the quarterfinal.”
Amidst every doubt, Quadri rose to the occasion against Timo Boll when the Nigerian showed his class in front of the Brazilian fans with an emphatic 4-2 (12-10, 12-10, 11-5, 3-11, 5-11, 11-9) to become the first African and Blackman to make it to the last eight of the Olympic Games. The venue was animated as Brazilian fans were thrilled by the superlative performance of the Nigerian.
However, Quadri will face the biggest task of his career when he battles world number one and world champion, China’s Ma Long in the quarterfinal match early on Wednesday August 10.