Aruna Quadri, the African top table tennis player, has expressed concern over the overlap in the schedules of the 2023 African Games in Ghana and the 2024 Singapore Smash event.

The 13th African Games is scheduled for March 8 to 23 in Ghana, while the Singapore Smash is billed for March 7 to 18.

Quadri said such conflicts challenge athletes in planning and participating in major international competitions.

He appealed to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and World Table Tennis (WTT) to engage the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) and organisers of the African Games regarding a potential rescheduling of the table tennis events.

He suggested that the table tennis event at the African Games be moved to a later date, specifically between March 15 and March 23.

According to him, the aim is to address the schedule overlap and allow African players to participate in both events without risking injuries or missing out on either competition.

“African players are begging the ITTF and WTT to look into this issue and help convince the ATTF to appeal to the organisers of the African Games to move the Table Tennis event from the planned date to March 15 to March 23.

“The Singapore Smash Event is as big as the World Championships and everyone is always excited to participate. The players do not want to get injured with the tight schedule and miss Singapore events at the same time.

“We want to play at the Singapore Smash event first before heading to the African Games. It will definitely look so bad for our sports if no player from Africa participates in this year’s Singapore Smash,” he said.

He also expressed concern for potential injuries due to the tight schedule.

He noted this was necessary, especially in an Olympic year where athletes seek to maintain their physical condition for upcoming competitions, such as the Paris Olympic Games.

“The schedule of the African Games may cause injuries to several African players, and we are in the Olympic year. Therefore, it is super important for all athletes to stay without injuries.

“This is because there are seven events in the African Games, and all of these events are scheduled to be played in just seven days. There is an option to play on other dates, but the excuse is that there will be four sports in just one venue.

“The African Games was postponed last year because facilities were not ready, and having four sports in just one venue still means facilities are not fully ready. It is very possible to play from March 15 to March 23 because the African Games commences in early March,” Quadri said.

(NAN)