By Victor Kanayo
There are indications that Nigeria would be sanctioned following the inability of its players to take part in the 2023 World Youth Championships (WYC) in Slovenia, after confirming participation.
This was disclosed by an official of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) whose identity was not ascertained as at the time of filling this report.
Reports said the trio of Matthew Kuti, Muiz Adegoke and Matthew Fabunmi had been listed among the qualified players for the singles event for the WYC three months ago, after picking their tickets at the 2023 African Youth Championships (AYC) in Morocco earlier this year.
The absent Nigerian players were all walked over at the competition.
“Apparently, Nigeria did not show up and left other doubles partners as well without playing. This is very bad that it is happening as we have only 32 entries and many players have not been able to play with the walkovers.
“It is a pity, but it frequently happens with African countries, especially Nigeria, and nobody knows why they confirm participation but don’t show up for the event,” the ITTF official was quoted as saying furiously.
Nigeria will also drop in ranking for failing to show up.
Both AYC and WYC were among the sporting platforms that threw up the likes of serial Table Tennis Champions -w Quadri Aruna and Funke Oshonaike in Nigeria.
