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Godwin Aikigbe
Nigerian table tennis icon, Quadri Aruna, is not backing down on his heated stand-off with World Table Tennis over what he terms unjustifiable sanctions by the body.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg player took a swipe at WTT, accusing the body of racism for slamming him with two rankings and monetary penalties in two months for not participating in the World Championships and the WTT Championship in Korea earlier this year.
Apparently miffed by WTT’s response to his Facebook outbursts, insisting that those events were indeed mandatory, the 35-year-old responded even more aggressively in a statement, asserting they were not mandatory, and asking why he shouldn’t choose his club, who pay his salary, over WTT events.
The post read, “Why exactly must participation in WTT Champions be mandatory when I have no paid contract with you? Why exactly do I have to leave my club that is paying me salary and play WTT events? Why exactly is this really mandatory?
“I have family to take care of and I have bills to pay monthly, why exactly do I have to be forced to play where I will not win money? Several prize money are yet to be paid by WTT and yet forcing players to play.
“My prize money from cup finals, Doha Star Contender and Goa Star Contender, are yet to be received and why exactly must I leave my contract with my clubs and play WTT Champions in Korea and lose my contract with my clubs?”
In his first post, Aruna said he suffered from diarrhea when the World Championships held and was involved in club activities during the WTT Championship, which he said he duly communicated to the body.
The two ranking penalties saw Aruna concede the pole position of African rankings to Egyptian rival Omar Assar, who moved five places to occupy the 17th spot in the world, two spots above Quadri in the 2024 Week 12 Ranking released by ITTF in March.
