Africa’s top table tennis players, Quadri Aruna from Nigeria and Omar Assar from Egypt have been listed among the top seeds for the 2025 WTT Star Contender Chennai.
This prestigious tournament, with a prize pool of $275,000, has attracted elite players from around the globe, including world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan and Brazil’s world No. 5 Hugo Calderano.
Harimoto and Calderano are the top two seeds in the Men’s Singles, followed by Denmark’s Jonathan Groth as the third seed. Aruna, the highest-ranked African player, is the fourth seed, with Assar closely behind as the fifth seed.
Both Aruna and Assar have received byes to the second round (last 32) in the Men’s Singles, where they will begin their campaigns to claim a significant share of the prize money.
Aruna, a late replacement for Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov, aims to improve on his second-round finish in 2024 with another strong performance in India.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium will host the competition over the next five days, featuring top table tennis talent across five disciplines.
The two-day qualifying rounds conclude on Wednesday, March 26, with the main draw action starting from Thursday, March 27 to 30.
The tournament offers not only a substantial prize pool but also crucial ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking points, making every match highly competitive.
In the Men’s Singles Qualifying, Nigeria-born Italian national champion John Oyebode, the No. 3 seed, showcased his dominance by defeating local hopeful Arnav Karnavar (11-4, 11-5, 11-2) in just 16 minutes. Oyebode now faces Abhinandh Pradhivadhi in the final qualifying round for a spot in the main draw.
The Women’s Singles event sees a strong Japanese presence, with Hina Hayata leading the seeding list. Hayata, aiming to add another WTT Series win to her impressive collection of seven titles, is joined by Miwa Harimoto and Satsuki Odo. Harimoto, a two-time WTT Contender champion, seeks to make her mark at the WTT Star Contender level, while Odo aims for her first WTT Series breakthrough since her title run at WTT Champions Montpellier 2024.
Indian table tennis icon Sharath Achanta, along with Manav Thakkar and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, will compete for Men’s Singles glory, while Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula aim for success in the Women’s Singles, making it a historic week in Chennai.
