Aruna Quadri maintained his position as Africa’s top-ranked table tennis player in the ITTF World rankings for October while compatriot Olajide Omotayo is now Africa’s third-best player after jumping 41 places to break into the world’s top 100 for the first time.

Quadri, 30, the 2019 Seamaster ITTF Challenge Plus Nigeria Open Champion, is unmoved at number 19 in the world and keeps his place at the zenith of African table tennis ahead of long-time rival and African Cup champion Omar Assar who jumped 10 places to number 34 in the world but retains his second position on the continent.

Omotayo, 25, who beat Quadri to win men’s singles gold at the African Games in Rabat, breaks into the continent’s top five for the first time after reaching a career-high number 81 in the world rankings on the back of his run at the African Games. 

The rest of the top five is dominated by Egyptians with 39-year-old world number 83, Ahmed Saleh and 26-year-old world number 118, Khalid Assar occupying fourth and fifth position in the continent respectively.

Nigeria’s other players in the top ten include ninth-ranked Bode Abiodun who’s number 142 in the world and former African champion Segun Toriola who is number 143 in the world and the tenth-ranked player in Africa.