Following his victory over Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri in the third round of the men’s singles at the 2019 ITTF World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, world number one, China’s Fan Zhendong has hailed the Nigerian star qualities.

Fan Zhendong told the media after the game that he had to be at his best when playing against the Nigerian.

“We had played against each other in Sweden two years ago and I know that this is a different platform so I had to be at my best to beat him.

“The first game was a bit scary but I was fortunate to scale through. Quadri’s unique style has made table tennis popular in Africa and he is such a good player that you cannot look down on.

“He is very strong and competitive anytime. So I think he tried but I had to do my job,” he said.

Aruna his part, believed he tried his best to at least a game against the Chinese who won the game 4-0.

“I tried my best to win at least a game in the encounter to be able to put him under pressure, unfortunately, I could not. So I am so disappointed because of this.

“I am disappointed with my performance in the competition because this is another good performance for me,” he said.

“Fan Zhendong performance showed why he is ranked number one in the world. So I must give kudos to him and I hope to be back again next time,” Quadri said.

Fan Zhendong will now take on compatriot and teammate – Liang Jingkun in his quest to conquer the world in Budapest.