One month ago, Quadri Aruna of Nigeria (pictured) reached an International Table Tennis Federation world ranking of #15, a best not only for his career but for that of any player from Africa. Now, Aruna is improving the pathway for others to follow him with the launching of his namesake youth tournament. One could write a book documenting Aruna's ping-pong philanthropy. He is personally sponsoring six young players in Nigeria, providing all the equipment and fees they need to develop professional-level skills. The Nigerian Paralympic table tennis team has also benefited from Aruna's largesse. In only the latest example of Aruna's efforts to raise all boats, his Aruna Cadet Invitational Championships launched its maiden voyage yesterday. Kehinde Akanbi claimed the girls' championship, while Tobi Adebakin emerged the boys' champion. In addition to playing exhibition matches with other local celebrities, Aruna donated four tables to the host club. A three-time Olympian and winner of the 2017 African Cup, the 33-year-old Aruna places his rise to stardom in historical context. "While growing up, we heard about Atanda Musa, it was after 10 years that we started hearing about Segun Toriola and then another 10 years after he has been reigning for so long that we started hearing about Quadri Aruna," said Aruna, listing Nigerian Olympians who inspired him. "This means we are producing very good players every one decade," he calculated, lamenting the relative infrequency of greatness. "This is what I don’t want to continue and that’s I’m organizing a tournament like this. "I want us to be producing about five good players every five years," continued Aruna. "So this is going to be a continuous tournament which will take the format of a table tennis league in future." Inarguably an exceptional talent, Quadri Aruna is working tirelessly to ensure that he is only the latest link in an endless succession of homegrown heroes.

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