Africa’s top-ranked table tennis player, Quadri Aruna is set to miss the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships (WTTC) which begins on Friday at BEXCO, Busan, Korea Republic.
Bold Sports had earlier reported that Nigeria and Egypt will be leading the continent’s charge at the global event.
40 men and 40 women teams have been drawn into eight groups of five teams each with the top eight teams in the men and women events qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France.
But in an Instagram post early Friday morning, the No. 12 ranked player on the world said he would not be part of the Nigerian team due to food poisoning.
He wrote, “Unfortunately, I will not be participating in the World Championships in Busan, I’m seriously ill with food poisoning. I wish the team good luck.”
The Nigerian men’s team – seeded 22 – have been drawn in Group 5 against Japan, Chinese Taipei, Madagascar, and Czech Republic while the women’s team – seeded 31 – were drawn in Group 3 against Germany, Slovak Republic, Poland and Mexico.
