Junior Aruna extends medal run at WTT Youth Contender in France
Junior Aruna added another silver medal to his growing collection at the WTT Youth Contender Series in Metz, France, late on Wednesday —to continue a streak that has seen him
Junior Aruna added another silver medal to his growing collection at the WTT Youth Contender Series in Metz, France, late on Wednesday —to continue a streak that has seen him emerge as one of the brightest young talents in the sport.
Junior, the son of Nigeria’s table tennis icon Quadri Aruna, is no stranger to the podium. Only last week, he picked up silver and bronze medals in Luxembourg, competing under the guidance of his mother, Ganiat, herself a former international player. Acting as coach, she travelled with Junior and his sister Mariam, who also featured in the girls’ U-17 and U-15 categories in France.
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The young Aruna showed the same resilience that has defined his father’s career. Entered in both the boys’ U-11 and U-13 events, he struggled to advance in the older age group but left his mark in the U-11 division. His campaign began with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Brazil’s Rafael Suguimoto, before facing French opponents Lyazid Idrissi and Nolan Lhuissier. A narrow 2-3 loss to Idrissi denied him the gold, but he bounced back with a commanding 3-0 win against Lhuissier to secure silver.
For Ganiat, the experience was about more than medals. “It was painful that he narrowly lost the gold medal to the French boy, but for me it was a good experience for them to compete against some of the best young players in the world,” she reflected.
“We decided to expose them to tournaments like this so they can gain the valuable experience they will need in the future. It has not been easy combining coaching with catering for them during the trip, but I enjoyed doing it, and I hope we can take them further in the game so they can achieve more than we did in the sport,” she added.
Meanwhile, Mariam showed promise of her own. The 13-year-old finished in the top 32 of the girls’ U-15 event, though she fell short of advancing to the main draw in the U-17 division.
