Aruna Guides Amiens to Second Straight Win

Nigerian table tennis star Quadri Aruna inspired Amiens STT to a second consecutive victory in the French Pro B League after a commanding 3-0 win over Nantes TT.

The Week 2 encounter, played on Tuesday, September 29, saw Amiens maintain its perfect start to the season as the club continued its campaign to secure promotion to France’s elite Pro A division.

Aruna was given the responsibility of opening the tie against Portuguese player André Silva, a former teammate of his at Sporting Clube de Portugal.

The Nigerian initially struggled to find his rhythm and lost the opening game 11-7. He quickly recovered, however, winning the next three games 11-7, 11-8 and 11-3 to complete a 3-1 victory and put Amiens ahead.

South Korean player Cho Seungmin then extended Amiens’ advantage against Nigerian table tennis legend Segun Toriola. Cho produced a dominant performance, defeating the former African champion 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 to move Amiens within one match of victory.

Joao Monteiro completed the job against Turkish player Ibrahim Gunduz. Monteiro secured a 3-0 victory in a closely contested match, winning the games 11-9, 12-10 and 11-7.

The result gave Amiens another clean-sheet victory after the team opened the campaign with a 3-2 win over Lille. The club is now among the early pace-setters in the Pro B standings.

The Nantes fixture also brought together several experienced African players, with Toriola representing the home side. Aruna’s contribution once again underlined his importance to Amiens as the club targets a return to the Pro A division.

Aruna joined Amiens in May as part of the club’s plans to strengthen its squad for the promotion campaign. He is currently the highest-ranked player on the Amiens roster, listed at number 16 in the French ranking.

Amiens will next face Compiégnois TT at home on October 23. Aruna and his teammates will look to maintain their winning run as the season progresses and their promotion ambitions take shape.