Aruna Leads Amiens Into French Pro B League Opener

Nigeria’s table tennis star Quadri Aruna will begin a new chapter of his club career when he leads Amiens STT against Lille Metropole TT in the opening match of the French Pro B League.

The encounter is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at the Albéric-Labaume Gymnasium in Amiens, northern France, with Aruna set to make his competitive debut for the three-time French champions following his move to the club in May.

The Nigerian, currently ranked 80th in the world, is Amiens’ highest-ranked player and will be expected to provide experience and leadership as the club targets promotion to the French top flight.

Aruna became the first African player to break into the world’s top 10 and has established himself as one of the continent’s leading players over the past decade.

The 37-year-old is now looking to regain consistency and climb the world rankings while helping Amiens secure a return to the Pro A division.

“This transfer is about rebuilding form and pushing Amiens towards promotion,” Aruna said.

He will spearhead an experienced Amiens squad that includes Austria’s Robert Gardos, Portugal’s João Monteiro, South Korea’s Cho Seungmin and France’s Denis Dorcescu.

Monteiro brings considerable European experience to the team, having won three European titles, while Gardos provides further experience at the highest level. Dorcescu is entering his fourth season with Amiens.

Their opening opponents, Lille, also possess a strong international line-up led by Croatian Andrej Gacina, ranked 50th in the world.

Lille’s squad also includes Ukraine’s Yaroslav Zhmudenko, Iran’s Amir Hodaei, Romania’s Rares Sipos, Madagascar’s Fabio Rakotoarimanana, France’s Romain Brard and Hungary’s Marton Szita.

The strength of both squads underlines the competitive nature of the Pro B division, where clubs will be targeting promotion to the top flight.

Nigerians also in action

Aruna is not the only Nigerian set to feature in the French Pro B this season.Olajide Omotayo, the 2019 African Games champion, will team up with compatriot Taiwo Mati at Le Havre ATT, who face Boulogne Billancourt AC in their opening fixture.

Former Nigerian international Segun Toriola will also combine playing duties with coaching responsibilities at Nantes.

Toriola will lead Nantes alongside Egyptian player Youssef Abdelaziz and Greek veteran Panagiotis Gionis when they take on Frejus AMSL.

The growing Nigerian presence is part of a wider African representation in the French second tier.

Benin Republic’s Salifou Abdel-Kader will feature for Compiegnois TT, while Algeria will be represented by Stephane Ouaiche of Caen TTC, Mehdi Bouloussa of Courbevoie STT and Maheidine Bella of Proville ASL.

For Aruna, however, attention will be firmly focused on Amiens and the task of starting the new campaign with a strong performance.

His arrival has added considerable experience to an Amiens side aiming to challenge for promotion, while the season also offers the Nigerian star an opportunity to rebuild his form and continue his pursuit of a return towards the upper reaches of the world rankings.