His compatriot, Olajide Omotayo, has a tough duel against Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan in the first round of men’s singles in the table tennis competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The draw conducted on Wednesday, July 23 at the South Paris Arena and witnessed by coaches and team managers also handed Africa’s flagbearers, Egypt, a big hurdle in the team and mixed doubles events.

Like Omotayo, Offiong Edem will lock horns against Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi, while debutant Fatimo Bello will face a Herculean task against the Chinese-born French star Jia Nana Yuan in the first round of the Women’s Singles.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games mark a momentous occasion for table tennis: its 10th appearance as an Olympic sport since its debut at Seoul 1988 in South Korea.

According to the head-to-head between Aruna and Romanian, both players have met once, and that was during the semi-finals of the European Champions League, in which the Romanian defeated Aruna 3-2, and Paris 2024 will be their second meeting in any competition.

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