Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun lose with Sporting in ETTU Champions League

Aruna Quadri, Bode Abiodun lose with Sporting in ETTU Champions League By: Olalekan Okusan It was not a good start for Aruna Quadri and Sporting teammates yesterday (Thursday) in the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Champions League after the Portuguese champion fell 03 to defending champion Borussia Dusseldorf in the opener of Group A. In the absence of Captain Joao Monteiro, Quadri led the 2017 semi-finalist to the German city of Dusseldorf but their visit was marred by the defeat in the hands of the home team. Portuguese international – Diogo Carvalho was thrown into the table to start the campaign for Sporting while Egypt’s Omar Assar started for Borussia Dusseldorf. The encounter had all the qualities of an epic match while the support of the home fans was all what Dusseldorf needed to be fired up for the tie. From the start, Assar put everything right and claim the first two games at 11-3, 11-4. But Carvalho did not leave the table without a fight as he prevented a clean win for Assar with 11-7 win in the third. The fourth game became the climax of the encounter as both players entertained the fans with their beautiful displays that were greeted with applause by the fans. Even when the game went into deuce, Assar rose to the occasion to win at 13-11 for a 3-1 overall victory. It was the turn of Quadri to restore parity for Sporting against Kristian Karlsson. The match started with both players playing with caution but it was the Swedish Karlsson that won the first game at 11-7. But not ready to give up the tie, Quadri levelled up with an 11-9 win. The last two games were full of excitement with Karlsson claiming emphatic victory against Quadri at 12-10, 11-9 to give Borussia Dusseldorf a 2-0 lead. The third match involving Bode Abiodun and Anton Kallberg was also another explosive tie but it was the young Swedish star that completed the 3-0 rout of Sporting with 14-12, 11-5, 7-11, 11-4 win in the Group A opener of the lucrative league. The next tie for Quadri’s Sporting is on October 11 at home to Czech Republic's Ostrava