Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has been knocked out of the ITTF World Cup after a straight-sets loss to Sora Matsushima in his final Group 6 match at the Galaxy Arena, Macao.
Needing victory to keep his hopes alive following an opening defeat, Quadri Aruna was outplayed by the world number eight, who sealed a 3-0 win in just 17 minutes and 35 seconds.
Matsushima took the game 12-10, 11-3, 11-5, dominating from start to finish and closing off any route to the knockout stage for the Nigerian.
Aruna had entered the match under pressure after a 3-0 loss to Tomislav Pucar, where he fell 11-4, 12-10, 11-6 in their first meeting. The setback left him needing a strong response, but he struggled to find rhythm against Matsushima.
The Japanese star won 34 points to Aruna’s 18, including 20 points on his own serve while conceding just seven.
Aruna managed only 11 points on serve and seven on return, conceding heavily in both phases despite a brief run of five consecutive points.
The defeat confirms Aruna’s early exit and extends a difficult spell on the global stage. The 37-year-old is now winless in 10 consecutive matches in major international competitions. His last victory came against Huang Youzheng in September 2025, with just one game won across his last 14 matches.
Recent defeats have come against Tomokazu Harimoto, Truls Moregardh, Omar Assar, Patrick Franziska, Anders Lind, Simon Gauzy, Ovidiu Ionescu, Liang Jingkun, Zhou Qihao and Felix Lebrun.
Aruna remains the only African to reach a World Cup quarter-final following his 2014 run in Dusseldorf. Nigeria’s campaign in Macao ends with his exit as he turns attention to the World Team Table Tennis Championships in London later this month.
