Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna will make his French Pro B debut for Amiens STT when they face Lille Métropole TT at the Albéric-Labaume Gymnasium.
Aruna joined the three-time French champions in May as Amiens strengthened their squad for a promotion challenge. The move offers the Nigerian an opportunity to rediscover his best form after spending the previous three seasons in the French top division.
The world No.80 is the highest-ranked player in an experienced Amiens squad that also includes Austria’s Robert Gardos, Portugal’s João Monteiro, South Korea’s Cho Seungmin and Frenchman Denis Dorcescu.
Monteiro is a three-time European champion, while Gardos brings several years of experience at the highest level of European table tennis. Dorcescu is entering his fourth season with Amiens.
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Aruna, the first African player to reach the world’s top 10, will be expected to lead the club’s attempt to return to Pro A while rebuilding his ranking and consistency on the international circuit.
Amiens face a difficult opening assignment against a Lille side led by Croatian Andrej Gacina, who is 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.
Aruna will not be the only Nigerian involved in the new Pro B season. Olajide Omotayo, the 2019 African Games champion, has joined compatriot Taiwo Mati at Le Havre ATT, who will begin their campaign at home to Boulogne-Billancourt AC.
Seven-time Olympian Segun Toriola will continue as player-coach at Nantes. The Nigerian veteran will line up alongside Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz and Greece’s Panagiotis Gionis when Nantes face Fréjus AMSL.
Other African players in the division include Benin Republic’s Abdel-Kader Salifou at Compiégnois TT and the Algerian trio of Stéphane Ouaiche at Caen TTC, Mehdi Bouloussa at Courbevoie STT and Maheidine Bella at Proville ASL.
The opening match will provide an early indication of Amiens’ promotion credentials and Aruna’s prospects of leading the club back to the French top flight.
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