Nigeria Refused to Support Me”: Africa's No. 1 Table Tennis Player Cries Out
- Multiple national champion Quadri Aruna said the country has never supported him since he turned professional in 2010
- The 2015 All-African Games champion disclosed how he gagged his first sponsorship deal and a personal coach
- The 37-year-old also shared his experience in the hands of Nigerian officials during the 2025 World Championship in Doha
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Four-time Olympian Quadri Aruna is unhappy with the way other sports are treated especially Table Tennis.
The Commonwealth Games silver medallist joined Al Khaleej Table Tennis club in Saudi Arabia from Fakel-Gazprom Orenburg of Russia after conquering Europe.
Aruna is regarded as one of the greatest players on the continent after becoming the first African to make it to the quarterfinals in the Olympics.
Source: Getty Images
I have zero support from government – Aruna
Multiple African Champion, Quadri Aruna said the country has failed to support him since he turned professional in 2010.
In a post on Facebook, the former Sporting Lissabon the current President of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa, Wahid Enitan Oshodi was responsible for his growth in the sport.
The 2023 Africa Games silver medallist explained that he played most of his matches without a coach. Aruna said:
“15 years ago, I arrived in Portugal to play as a professional table tennis player in Portuguese super league for GD Toledos.
“Every weekend, I played league matches for my club, and internationally I was playing minimum of one tournament in a month with the support of Barrister Wahid Enitan Oshodi, the President of Africa Table Tennis Federation and this financial support from him made me improved rapidly.
"With zero support from Nigeria government, I played 99% of the tournaments without a coach and I travelled most of the time alone.”
Source: Getty Images
My coach was withdrawn during the 2025 World Championship – Aruna
Quadri Aruna has shared an incident which occurred during the 2025 World Championship in Doha.
The World no. 26 said his Nigerian coach got withdrawn due to paucity of funds during the competition.
Aruna said he bought his own ticket to represent the country. He said:
“For the 2025 world championships in Doha,I bought my ticket myself because Nigeria refused to buy my ticket on time.
“I had to be in Doha days before my participation, I played my first two matches with coach Dotun Omoniyi and I felt totally comfortable with his words.
“After winning my first two matches, Nigeria said coach Dotun could not continue to coach me because there was no money to change his flight that he had to return to Nigeria.
"I later paid a friend from Togo to change his flight to coach me in my round of 32 with the help of FANNY as my coach from Togo, I got to round of 16 in Doha world championships."
Aruna reached the Round of 16 at the 2025 ITTF World Championship. He previously finished runner-up at the 2025 ITTF African Cup in Tunisia, per Punch.
Aruna's daughter showcase exceptional skills
Legit.ng earlier reported that Aruna Quadri's daughter Mariam is a project under the pipeline in a bid to follow in her dad's foot-steps in the game of table tennis.
Aruna who is regarded as the greatest African table tennis player due to his record-breaking feat in the ping-pong sport and is now putting his daughter through to work in his foot-steps.
Source: Legit.ng
