Aruna Quadri plans to quit international table tennis after LA 2028

Nigerian table tennis star Quadri Aruna says he intends to stop representing the country after the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but will keep playing for clubs.

Aruna, 38, made the plan public in an interview on BRILA FM. He said athletes often think about when to stop, adding that only God knows everything.

"I want to stop playing at international level that's after the Los Angeles Olympics, but I will still be playing in leagues," he said on the radio programme.

For Nigerian sports fans, the news marks the beginning of the countdown on a career that put the country on the table tennis map. Aruna has been Nigeria's best-known player for more than a decade, and his presence at major events has drawn attention to the sport at home.

What he has achieved

Aruna's biggest Olympic run came at Rio 2016, where he reached the quarter-finals. He also got to the men's singles quarter-finals at the 2014 World Cup.

He won team gold at the 2015 All Africa Games in Brazzaville, Congo, and took singles silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia.

In 2017 he reached the semi-finals of the ITTF World Challenge Bulgaria Open, where eventual winner Dimitrij Ovtcharov edged him in a close match.

The International Table Tennis Federation named him Star Player of the Year in 2014, the same year he was ranked number 30 in the world.

What happens next

Nothing changes immediately. Aruna still has the 2028 Games in his sights, and he says league play will continue after that.

His plan gives Nigerian table tennis officials roughly two years to prepare the next generation of players for the international stage. How the sport builds on his profile once he steps away will be the bigger question for fans at home.