Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Hana Goda suffered early exits at the WTT Champions Doha, a $500,000 table tennis tournament at Qatar’s Lusail Sports Arena.
Aruna was eliminated in the round of 32 by China’s sixth seed Liang Jingkun, losing 3–0 in a one-sided contest on Thursday. Despite the defeat, Aruna showed glimpses of his signature power, suggesting he is gradually regaining form after missing the 2025 WTT Cup Finals.
Goda, meanwhile, put up a spirited fight against former world No. 1 Zhu Yuling but fell 3–1. Goda won the second game 11–5 and pushed Yuling to tight finishes in the third (15–13) and fourth (12–10), demonstrating her continued progress at elite levels. Goda is the only African woman to reach WTT Champions singles quarter-finals, having achieved the feat at Montpellier 2024 and Frankfurt 2025.
Egypt’s Omar Assar was the first African to exit, losing 3–1 to Japan’s Shunsuke Togami on Wednesday, January 7.
African fans now look ahead to the WTT Star Contender Doha 2026 (January 13–18), where Aruna, Assar, Goda, and other top players will aim for stronger performances at the Lusail Sports Arena.
