Nigeria’s table tennis star Aruna Quadri has moved up two places in the July 2019 rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), reaching 21st in the world. This marks Quadri’s highest ranking this year, after starting 2019 at the 26th position. His career-best ranking came in August 2018 when he was ranked 18th.

Quadri remains Africa’s top-ranked player, with Egypt’s Omar Assar following at 58th globally. Other notable African players include Ahmed Saleh of Egypt and Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo, ranked 118th and 128th in the world, respectively. Two other Nigerians, Segun Toriola and Bode Abiodun, also made it into the top 10 African rankings, sitting at 165th and 186th in the global rankings.

In the women’s rankings, Nigeria’s Offiong Edem ranks fourth in Africa but has dropped from 150th to 158th in the world. Funke Oshonaike is ranked seventh in Africa and 164th globally.

Quadri has participated in six ITTF competitions this year, with his best performance being a Round of 16 finish at both the Hong Kong Open in June and the Portugal Open in February.