Junior Aruna Claims Silver in France, Continues Rise on WTT Youth Circuit

Nigeria’s budding table tennis prospect Junior Aruna continued his impressive rise on the international stage, clinching a silver medal at the WTT Youth Contender Series in Metz, France, on Wednesday.

The young talent, son of Nigerian table tennis star Quadri Aruna, has quickly built a reputation as one of the sport’s most promising youngsters, adding the latest medal to an already growing collection.

His performance in France comes just days after a successful outing in Luxembourg, where he secured both silver and bronze medals under the guidance of his mother and coach, Ganiat Aruna.

Competing in both the boys’ U-11 and U-13 categories in Metz, Junior showed flashes of brilliance despite facing older opponents. While he fell short of progressing in the U-13 event, he delivered a standout performance in the U-11 division.

His journey to the podium began with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Brazil’s Rafael Suguimoto, before taking on French players Lyazid Idrissi and Nolan Lhuissier. In a closely contested encounter, Junior narrowly lost 2-3 to Idrissi, a result that denied him the gold medal. However, he bounced back strongly, defeating Lhuissier 3-0 to secure silver.

Reflecting on the outing, Ganiat described the experience as a valuable learning curve for her children.

“It was painful that he narrowly lost the gold medal, but it was a good experience competing against some of the best young players in the world,” she said.

She noted that the decision to expose Junior and his sister to international competitions is part of a long-term development plan.

“We want them to gain the experience they need for the future. It has not been easy combining coaching with caring for them during the trip, but I am proud of their progress and hopeful they can achieve more than we did,” she added.

Junior’s sister, Mariam Aruna, also showed promise at the tournament. The 13-year-old reached the top 32 in the girls’ U-15 category but did not advance to the main draw in the U-17 event.

With consistent podium finishes across European competitions, Junior Aruna is steadily carving out his own identity in the sport, following in the footsteps of his illustrious father while signaling a bright future for Nigerian table tennis.

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