By VIVIAN AHANMISI

The rivalry between Africa’s Quadri Aruna and South America’s Hugo Calderano is set to reignite at the 2025 ITTF World Championships in Doha on Thursday.

They will clash in the fourth round of the Men’s Singles at Lusail Arena, promising another high-stakes encounter between two continental table tennis icons.

Aruna and Calderano have earned legendary status through consistent global performances and their trademark never-say-die attitude at the table.

Both made history at the Rio 2016 Olympics, becoming the first from their continents to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals.

Since then, they have amassed multiple continental titles and broken into the ITTF world top 10.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Calderano is currently in superb form, arguably the best of his career.

He recently won the 2025 ITTF World Cup in Macao, beating China’s top seeds, Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun.

That victory made Calderano the first South American to claim the prestigious World Cup title.

NAN also reports that Aruna’s Doha campaign began with a dominant 4-0 win over Victor Ishiy, Calderano’s Brazilian compatriot.

He followed that with a thrilling 4-2 win against Norwegian left-hander Borgar Haug.

In the third round, Aruna defeated Germany’s Benedikt Duda 4-2 on Tuesday.

Calderano, like Aruna, started strong with a 4-1 win over Mexico’s Rogelio Castro.

He then cruised past Tunisia’s 2024 African Youth Champion, Wassim Essid, with a commanding 4-0 performance.

However, Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko tested him in the third round.

Down 0-2, Calderano made key adjustments and fought back to win 4-2, booking a date with Aruna.

Speaking before the match, Calderano praised Aruna’s strength and tenacity.

He said, “Yeah, definitely Aruna is a very strong player. He’s been in the top 10 before, and everybody knows him.

“I will be ready for a big fight because he’s also a fighter, so it’s going to be very exciting.” (NAN)