NIGERIAN table tennis icon, Quadri Aruna has won his appeal to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Executive Board for his World Table Tennis Championships points to be restored.
Following this development, Quadri Aruna is now ranked 16th in the world in the latest ITTF rankings.
Recall that Aruna suffered two points deduction and had a financial punishment slammed on him in April 2024 because he failed to feature in the World Championships and the WTT Championship in Korea earlier this year.
When the ITTF announced the development, the table tennis icon protested against the punishment via a statement.
Quadri Aruna was quoted as saying in April: “My first sin is because I was sick with chronic diarrhoea, I was not able to participate in world championships in Korea and I could not get a doctor’s report on time while on the sick bed and my appeal was rejected.”
Earlier this week, the ITTF released a statement alongside its latest world ranking announcing that Aruna’s appeal was successful, and his punishment has been cancelled.
This development has not guaranteed Aruna’s qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He will have to wait until June 11 to confirm whether his ITTF ranking is enough to qualify him for the Paris Olympics.
Before then, Quadri Aruna is expected to fight for more points at the 2024 WTT Contender Zagreb in Serbia, and at the WTT Contender Lagos from June 19 to 23 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
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