The long-standing rivalry between African star Aruna Quadri and South American table tennis maestro, Hugo Calderano, will be reignited as the two continental giants meet in Round 4 of the men’s singles at the 2025 ITTF World Championships in Doha on Thursday.
Both players have become icons of table tennis in their respective regions, with impressive global achievements that have earned them legendary status. Quadri and Calderano made history as the first African and South American players to reach the Olympic quarterfinals at the 2016 Games in Rio.
They have each won multiple continental titles and broken into the world’s top 10 rankings. Calderano arrives in peak form after his recent win at the 2025 ITTF World Cup in Macao, where he defeated world No. 1 Li Shidong and No. 2 Wang Chuqin of China to become the first South American to claim the prestigious title.
Quadri’s path to the fourth round has been equally impressive. He began with a commanding 4-0 victory over Calderano’s compatriot Victor Ishiy, followed by a 4-2 win against Norwegian left-hander Borgar Haug. In the third round, he continued his strong form by overcoming Germany’s Benedikt Duda 4-2.
World No. 3 Calderano also started strong, defeating Mexico’s Rogelio Castro 4-1 and Tunisia’s 2024 African Youth Champion Wassim Essid 4-0. His toughest test came in the third round against Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko, where he rallied from 0-2 down to claim a 4-2 victory, setting up the blockbuster encounter with Quadri.