Africa’s highest-ranked table tennis players, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Hana Goda, are set to begin their campaigns for global glory on Saturday, May 25 to 17, as the 2025 ITTF World Championships commence in Doha, Qatar.

The prestigious tournament will gather the world’s elite players at the cutting-edge Lusail Multipurpose Hall and Qatar University Sports Complex. Athletes will compete across five major events: Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s and Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

This year’s edition marks a significant return to Doha, 21 years after the Qatari capital made history as the first Middle Eastern city to host the World Championships in 2004.

Aruna, the first African to reach the quarterfinals of the World Championships, will start his Men’s Singles journey against Brazil’s Victor Ishiy, a familiar opponent whom he defeated 4-2 at the 2021 edition in Houston, USA. The Nigerian star will be aiming to replicate that success in Doha.

Other African contenders in the Men’s Singles include Darara Dufera (Ethiopia) facing Oh Junsung (South Korea); Aly Ghallab (Egypt) against Eduard Ionescu (Romania); Fabio Rakotoarimanana (Madagascar) versus Darko Jorgic (Slovenia); Kokou Fanny (Togo) battling Alexis Lebrun (France); Wassim Essed (Tunisia) taking on Juan Perez (Spain), and Mohamed El-Beiali (Egypt) clashing with Anton Kallberg (Sweden).

In the Women’s Singles, African champion Hana Goda of Egypt will face Australia’s Jiamuwa Wu in the opening round. Other notable matchups include Yousra Helmy (Egypt) versus Jocelyn Lam (New Zealand); Hope Udoaka (Nigeria) against Giulia Takahashi (Brazil); Rochica Sonday (South Africa) versus Chen Xingtong (China); Mariam Alhodaby (Egypt) against Sabine Winter (Germany), and Danisha Patel (South Africa) versus Andrea Todorovic (Croatia).

The Mixed Doubles event will also feature strong African representation with pairings such as Olajide Omotayo and Kabirat Ayoola (Nigeria) versus Mahmoud Helmy and Hend Fathy (Egypt); Fabio Rakotoarimanana & Hanitra Raharimanana (Madagascar) against Hugo Calderano & Bruna Takahashi (Brazil); Matthew Kuti & Ajoke Ojomu (Nigeria) versus Sora Matsushima and Miwa Harimoto (Japan); and Milhane Jellouli & Amina Kessaci (Algeria) versus Ahmed Korani and Maryam Ali (Qatar).

With top talents from across Africa, including Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, Madagascar, and Togo, set to compete, the 2025 ITTF World Championships in Doha promise to be an electrifying showcase of skill, determination, and continental pride.

Head of Sports at BusinessDay Media, a seasoned Digital Content Producer, and FIFA/CAF Accredited Journalist with over a decade of sports reporting.Has a deep understanding of the Nigerian and global sports landscape and skills in delivering comprehensive and insightful sports content.