Africa’s No. 1 table tennis player, Quadri Aruna, is set to be unveiled by 10-time Russian table tennis league champions Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg on Monday in the capital city of Moscow.
The Nigerian will undergo medical tests on Monday morning before penning his signature ahead of the unveiling ceremony at the headquarters of Gazprombank.
Reports suggested that Quadri’s work permit will be obtained by the club’s management ahead of their league match on Friday, February 3, against Samara at the Russian Table Tennis Centre in Orenburg.
The 34-year-old confirmed his transfer to the Russian club for the remainder of the 2022–23 season earlier this year, after a two-year spell with Bundesliga side TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, where he led them to the semi-finals of the German Cup and the Bundesliga play-off.
Aruna joins Fakel-Gazprom alongside China’s An Yan and Hongyu Chen, with the three of them expected to be unveiled tomorrow and continue the club’s dominance in the Russian table tennis league.
The world No. 14 arrived in Russia on Saturday and expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome he has received since arriving in the Eastern European nation, promising to give his all to help them succeed.
“I am really impressed with what I have witnessed since my arrival on Saturday because the organization was top notch and I can’t wait to begin playing for the club,” he said.
“There is no doubt that I will be playing in one of the best leagues in Europe with a top club as well. I am so excited and I am indeed looking forward to my first match for the club this weekend.”
Aruna recently competed in the World Table Tennis Contender tournaments in Durban and Doha, where he was beaten by Ukraine’s Yaroslav Zhmudenko in the quarterfinals and Portugal’s Marcos Freita in the first round, respectively.
The Nigerian will join a star-studded line-up that includes World No. 8 and Taiwan’s Lin Yun-Ju, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano, who won the 2023 WTT Contender Durban, the decorated Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany, Russia’s Alex Shibaev, and familiar foe Freitas at the club that has won numerous titles, including 5 European Champions League titles and 4 Russian Cup titles.
He’ll be looking to make an immediate impact when he makes his debut for his new club this weekend.
