Quadri Aruna Joins the Saudi Arabia Bandwagon

 *Switches from German table tennis club to Khaleej

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Nigeria and Africa’s star table tennis player, Quadri Aruna, has joined the league of top sportsmen and women from around the world trooping to Saudi Arabia to cash out big pay day.

He switched from German club, TTC RhönSprudel Maberzell Fulda, to Saudi’s Khaleej for a mouth-watery fee not disclosed in the Making of Champions’ X handle on social media yesterday.

Khaleej is a multi-sports club based at Saihat in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It has football, handball, volleyball, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, athletics and table tennis clubs amongst other social and educational facilities.

The 35-year-old Nigerian ping pong player is currently ranked 16th in the world. He’s the first African player to be ranked 10th in the world, a feat he achieved in May, 2022.

Deft at his forehand-oriented playing style, Aruna is a Gewo-sponsored player.

Aruna who was  named 2014 Star Player by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), reached the quarter finals of the Men’s Singles of the World Cup that year.

In 2017, he was a semi finalist, losing a very tight match to eventual winner, Dimitrij Ovtcharov. He won silver medal for Nigeria at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

He has represented Nigeria in three Olympic Games in 2012, 2016 and 2020 amongst several other global competitions.

Aruna is following the path of one of the best table tennis players to come out of Nigeria and Africa, Atanda Musa, who moved to Saudi Arabia in the twilight of his career to coach. 

Although still too early to think of coaching career for Aruna, the kind of cash Saudi sports authorities are paying out to top sports men and women, appears enough to live on for rest of their lives.

Odion Ighalo shocked several Nigerians when he moved to the Middle East nation at the end of his loan spell at Manchester United. Same with retiring Super Eagles Captain, Ahmed Musa.

Only recently, speculations were rife in the sporting press that Victor Osimhen was being tempted to switch to the Saudi Pro League on a monthly £1million, tax free offer on the table. Napoli rejected offer of €130million tabled by Saudi’s Al Hilal.