Africa’s top table tennis player Aruna Quadri has expressed concern over the overlapping dates of the 2023 African Games in Ghana and the 2024 Singapore Smash Tournament.
The 13th African Games will be held in Ghana from March 8th to 23rd, and Singapore Smash will be held from March 7th to 18th.
Mr Quadri said such conflicts create difficulties for athletes when planning and participating in major international competitions.
He appealed to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and World Table Tennis (WTT) to approach the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) and African Games organizers regarding the possibility of rescheduling table tennis competitions.
He proposed that the African Games table tennis competition be postponed to a later date, specifically from March 15th to March 23rd.
He said the aim was to address scheduling conflicts and allow African athletes to participate in both competitions without risking injury or missing out on either event.
“African athletes appeal to the ITTF and WTT to investigate this matter and persuade the ATTF to appeal to African Games organizers to reschedule the table tennis tournament from March 15th to March 23rd. are doing.”
“The Singapore Smash event is as big as the World Championship and everyone is always excited to participate. We don’t want our players to get injured on a tight schedule and miss the Singapore event at the same time.
“Before we head to the African Games, we want to play in the Singapore Smash event first. If we don’t have African players participating in this year’s Singapore Smash, it will definitely be a very bad situation for our sport.” he said.
He also expressed concern about the possibility of injury due to the hectic schedule.
He said this is necessary, especially in an Olympic year when athletes are trying to stay in shape for upcoming competitions, such as the Paris Olympics.
“Due to the schedule of the African Games, some African athletes may be injured and we are also in an Olympic year. Therefore, staying injury-free is very important for all athletes.
“This is because there are seven sports in the African Games, all of which are scheduled to be played over just seven days. There are options to play on other dates, but four sports at one venue is not an option. There is an excuse for it to be done.
“The African Games were postponed last year because the facilities were not ready, and hosting four sports in just one venue still means the facilities are not fully ready. “The African Games start in early March, so it is very likely that we will play from March 15 to March 23,” Quadri said.
(South)