Nigeria’s top table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, has voiced his concerns over financial difficulties being faced by professional ‘ping-pongers’, stating that the earnings currently accruable from featuring in major international champions is nothing to write home about.
Aruna, who made history as the first African to be ranked in the World’s Top 10 and represented Nigeria at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics reaching the quarter-finals in 2016 , shared the economic challenges athletes endure despite competing at elite levels.
“Back in the day during the Challenge Series, Challenge Plus, and Super Series, the prize money wasn’t much, but we didn’t play as many tournaments, so the costs were lower,” Aruna explained. “Now, it’s extremely expensive. You could start from the group stage, get to the semi-finals, and still end up with nothing,” lamented the 366-year-old star.
He stressed that players often bear the brunt of unpredictable match schedules and constant travel, which leads to mounting expenses.
He continued: “You may have to change your flight more than twice and pay for extra nights at the hotel. In the end, you’ve taken a huge risk and still come out with nothing.”
Citing a recent example from China, Aruna elaborated: “Let’s say you earn $8,000 for losing in the first round. After 20% tax is deducted, and you’ve spent about €1,600 on flights because you don’t know your match day in advance and can’t book a round-trip you may end up spending even more. Eventually, you’re left with about €3,000 or even less.”
He added: “You win money, pay tax, reinvest it into your next event and in the end, your balance is zero. Does that really make any sense? Everything may look glamorous from the outside, but the truth is, nobody is really making money.”
Despite these financial hardships, Aruna remains a trailblazer for African table tennis. In 2018, he was recognized by the Olympic Channel as Africa’s most successful Olympic table tennis player of all time.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
