ITTF Unhappy With Nigeria For Failing To Have Representatives At WYC

The International Table Tennis Federation might punish Nigeria for pulling out of the 2023 World Youth Championships (WYC) in Slovenia.

Muiz Adegoke, Matthew Kuti, and Matthew Fabunmi, officially qualified for the WYC singles tournament three months ago, thanks to their performance in the African Youth Championships in Morocco earlier this year.

The Nigerian Table Tennis Federation Vice President, Adesoji Tayo, the ITTF Executive Vice President, Wahid Oshodi, and some table tennis enthusiasts made it possible for Nigeria to compete at the AYC by funding the team’s trip to Morocco.

Afterwards, the NTTF requested that the government reimburse the costs incurred and provide sponsorship for players eligible to represent Nigeria at the ongoing WYC.

However, the federation failed to sponsor the players to the WYC; hence, all players were walked over in the singles event. This means that the Nigerian contingent won’t be able to partner with other players in the doubles events.

The ITTF is unhappy about this development and there are purported intentions to impose sanctions on Nigeria. In addition to compensating for the expenses incurred by their absence, their ranking would suffer, and Nigeria could be punished more.

A statement from an ITTF official reads: “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.”