Quadri Aruna started his campaign in the lucrative Russian Premier Table Tennis league with 100 percent win in all his matches to earn Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg the fourth round victory at the Russian Table Tennis Centre in Moscow.
Aruna who teamed up with Chinese international An Yan and Russian national champion Alexander Shibaev won all their five matches to top the league table ahead of their close rival UMMC Verkhnyaya Psyhma.
Aruna featured in three of the five matches played by Fakel-Gazprom and the Nigerian showed class, claiming victory in all his matches.
In the final matches played late on Sunday, it was Aruna that salvaged victory for the team when he played the fourth game which earned his team a 3-1 win to end the fourth round unbeaten.
A delighted Aruna described the league as competitive while hailing his teammates for their dedication to the team’s triumph in the fourth round.
“I am happy making my debut in Russia as the league to me is competitive because nothing is sure for you in any match. Even unranked players are difficult to play against in the league but my team has assembled a strong contingent that can withstand any team in the league. I won all my matches but it was not easy because most of my opponents are experienced players and they really came out to match us strength-for-strength. I am indeed delighted that my debut ended very well and the management of the team were so happy with our performance as they are not ready to surrender the title this year,”Aruna said.
The Nigerian joined the Russian club from the Bundelisga in January with the aim to improve his game as well as expose to world class training with the Moscow-based team.
