Quadri Aruna, Africa’s best-ranked player, has been forced to withdraw from the ongoing International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) world tour following a recurring thigh injury.
The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), in a statement in Lagos on Friday, said the world number 18 sustained the thigh injury at the just-concluded African Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Tunisia.
The NTTF further disclosed that the tournament’s medical team confirmed that Aruna had an injury which he was nursing before the tournament.
It further said the examination carried out on Aruna in Lisbon, Portugal later revealed that he suffered another hamstring injury in Tunisia.
The ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup runner-up has now been advised to rest for three weeks while undergoing treatment.
“This has also forced him to withdraw from the ongoing ITTF World Tour tagged `Qatar Open’ and holding in Doha.
“Aruna was close to picking his ticket from the continental qualifiers in Tunisia last week.
“But he had to withdraw from playing his last match against Tunisia’s Adam Hmam to hand the Tunisian the last ticket to Tokyo,” the statement said.(NAN)
