Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna endured a disappointing exit at the WTT Star Contender Chennai after suffering a surprise straight-sets defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yi-Hsin in the second round of the Men’s Singles event.
The No. 4 seed and highest-ranked African player in the world struggled against the 22-year-old, who controlled their first-ever encounter to secure a 13-11, 11-8, 11-8 victory and book his place in the last 16.
In contrast, Egypt’s Omar Assar, the 2025 African Cup champion, made a winning start to his campaign.
Seeded No. 5 in the tournament, he received a bye to the round of 32, where he battled past Hong Kong’s Kwan Man Ho.
Despite losing the first game 4-11, Assar bounced back strongly to take the next three games 11-7, 11-3, 12-10, securing a spot in the third round. He will next face either South Korea’s Oh Junsung or Hong Kong’s Chan Baldwin on Saturday, March 29.
Elsewhere, the tournament saw several upsets, including 16-year-old Flavien Coton of France eliminating Spain’s No. 9 seed Alvaro Robles (11-1, 11-3, 6-11, 13-11).
In the Women’s Singles, home favorite and No. 9 seed Manika Batra crashed out in the round of 32 after a shock defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Jie, ranked No. 239 in the world.
Huang delivered a stunning performance to win 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9, silencing the Chennai crowd.
With Aruna out of the competition, Africa’s hopes now rest on Assar as he looks to continue his impressive run in Chennai.
