Quadri Aruna wins on his Amiens debut as Nigeria miss African team events
Nigeria's table tennis star beat Iran's Hodaei in France, but money problems mean no Nigerian teams at next month's African Championships.
By SitesNG Sports Desk · · 2 min read
Quadri Aruna has made a winning start in France. Playing his first match for Amiens STT in the French Pro B league on Tuesday 22 September 2026, the Nigerian beat Iran's Amir Hossein Hodaei 3-1 (12-14, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8) as Amiens edged Lille Metropole 3-2 in a tie that lasted almost four hours.
Aruna joined Amiens in May. The three-time French champions were relegated from Pro A and have built a strong squad, including Portugal's Joao Monteiro and Korea's Cho Seungmin, to win promotion straight back.
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“This transfer is about rebuilding form and pushing Amiens toward promotion.”
Quadri Aruna, quoted by ThisDay
He is not the only Nigerian in the league: seven-time Olympian Segun Toriola, now player-coach at Nantes, led his side to a 3-1 win over Frejus on the opening day, while Olajide Omotayo and Taiwo Mati play for Le Havre.
No Nigerian teams in Tangier
Back home the news is less happy. The ITTF Africa Championships take place in Tangier, Morocco, from 18 to 26 October, but Nigeria will not be in the team events. According to Voice of Nigeria, the team did not travel to the zonal qualifiers in Conakry because of financial constraints and high ticket prices, and under ITTF Africa rules that means automatic exclusion.
The next generation
Two of Nigeria's wildcards are teenagers to watch. Matthew Kuti led Nigeria's under-19 boys and won the Youth Cup in Accra, where Sultan Agunbiade was runner-up; Tangier will be Agunbiade's first senior continental championship. Egypt are the defending African champions.
Aruna himself has won seven African Championship titles and the 2017 Africa Cup, and his move to France keeps him playing high-level matches every week as he chases a place at the 2027 World Championships.
Aruna, born in Oyo in 1988, was the first African to reach the world top 10 (No. 10 in June 2022) and a quarter-finalist at the 2016 Olympics. Read his full profile on our Quadri Aruna page.
Reporting by the SitesNG Sports Desk, based on reports from ThisDay, Gazette Sports, Bold Sports, Blueprint, Voice of Nigeria. Published 22 September 2026 in the African Sports News weekly edition of 30 September 2026.
