Aruna faces tough draw in ITTF World Cup News

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Aruna faces tough draw in ITTF World Cup

By Daily Sports Nigeria on March 30, 2026

Quadri Aruna has been handed a challenging draw as he prepares to compete at the 2026 ITTF World Cup in Macao, China, from March 30 to April 5, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The tournament carries extra significance this year as the International Table Tennis Federation celebrates its centenary, with 48 men’s and 48 women’s singles players contesting the prestigious Evans and Hammarlund Cups.

Aruna, who remains the only African to reach a World Cup quarterfinal after his 2014 run in Düsseldorf, Germany, where he also earned the ITTF World Player of the Year award, has been drawn in Group 6.

He will face Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar and Japan’s Sora Matsushima, beginning his campaign against Pucar on Monday, March 30.

Egyptian champion Omar Assar faces a stern test in Group 5, drawn against Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Jun-Yu, while Algeria’s Stephane Ouaiche makes his debut in Group 15 against France’s Simon Gauzy and China’s Wen Ruibo.

In the women’s draw, Hana Goda aims to improve on her 2025 last-16 finish and will face Chinese Taipei’s Cheng I-Ching and Macao’s Leong On Na in Group 14.

Former African champion Dina Meshref confronts a daunting task against world number one Sun Yingsha of China and Lin Yu-Jhun of Chinese Taipei in Group 1.

Mariam Alhodaby of Egypt has been drawn in Group 12 against Germany’s Sabine Winter and Wales’ Anna Hursey, while Algerian teenager Tania Morice makes her debut in Group 16 against Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi and Romania’s Bernadette Szocs.

Stage 1 group matches will be contested as best-of-five games for the first time, leaving little room for error.

Only group winners will advance to the knockout stage, setting the scene for tight margins and high-stakes encounters throughout the week.

Source Punch Ng

Posted March 30, 2026