Aruna suffers eighth straight WTT series defeat

Nigeria’s table tennis star Quadri Aruna is still searching for his first win in the WTT series this year and remains winless in eight consecutive WTT matches after a 3–0 defeat to France’s Félix Lebrun at the WTT Champions Chongqing on Tuesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Aruna faced Lebrun in the round of 32 at the Bloomage Biotech Biohyalux E·C·M Arena in China Vbut succumbed to the 19-year-old’s firepower in straight sets, losing 11–5, 11–6, 11–3.

The defeat means Aruna will continue to wait for his first win in the WTT series, with his last victory dating back to September 2025, when he beat China’s Huang Youzheng in the round of 16.

Tuesday’s meeting with the 19-year-old Lebrun was the fourth encounter between the two players, leaving Aruna with one win from their meetings.

His only victory over the Frenchman was a hard-fought 3–2 win at the WTT Contender Durban in South Africa in January 2023.

They met twice in 2024 at the WTT Star Contender Goa and the WTT Champions Chongqing, where the teenager recorded 3–0 and 3–2 victories, respectively.

Aruna’s form heading into the clash was concerning. Lebrun, on the other hand, has lost just one of his last five matches, suffering a 4–1 defeat to world No. 1 Wang Chuqin at the Singapore Smash earlier this month.

While Aruna has struggled on the WTT Tour recently, he represented Nigeria at the ITTF Africa Cup in February, where he exited in the semi-finals after losing to Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa.

Africa’s other representative, Egypt’s Omar Assar, will face Japan’s Yukiya Uda in the round of 32 on Wednesday.

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