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Aruna Quadri was one of Nigeria's biggest medal hopes in Paris 2024 but has now exited the Olympics after letting slip a 3-0 lead in Table Tennis.
Aruna Quadri was one of Nigeria's biggest medal hopes heading into the Paris 2024 Olympics - but the table tennis star has suffered a devastating upset.
Quadri, competing in his FOURTH consecutive Games, appeared to be cruising to a comfortable victory when he raced into a 3-0 lead against Romania's Eduard Ionescu.
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Aruna Quadri fails Nigeria
The world No 16 had totally dominated the opening three sets, winning them 11-8, 11-9 and 11-6 in style.
But the 20-year-old Romanian teenager produced an incredible fightback to level the match at 3-3, claiming the fourth set 11-8 before winning the next two 12-10 and 11-9.
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In the nail-biting decider, it was Ionescu who prevailed in a tense 13-11 battle, leaving Quadri and his Nigerian fans heartbroken.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the veteran Olympian, who had been hoping to improve on his previous best of reaching the quarter-finals at Rio 2016 - where he became the first African to achieve that feat.
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Quadri and Ionescu had met before, with the Romanian coming out on top in their previous clash at the 2024 European Champions League in March.
But few would have predicted the teenager would produce such an astonishing comeback to dump out one of the medal favourites in Paris. Quadri's Olympic dream is over.
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The 14th seed was one of Nigeria’s biggest hopes heading into the Parus 2024 Olympics alongside athletics star Tobi Amusan, who also was the nation’s flagbearer during the impressive Olympics opening ceremony.
After reaching the quarterfinals in Rio 2016, Aruna aims to surpass that performance and earn a podium finish in Paris.
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However, that dream has come crashing down for the Table Tennis legend.
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