Sports
WTT: Aruna Reaches Last 16, Battles Korean Foe

Aruna Quadri will faceoff with South Korea’s Cho Dae-seong in the men’s singles round of 16 of the World Table Tennis Saudi Smash 2024, taking place in Jedda.
The Nigerian once again showed character as he came from behind to edge Lee Sang Su of South Korea 3-2 (9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11, 7, 11-1, 11-3) in a round of 32 slugfest at King Abdullah Sports City Infinity Arena on Monday morning.
The nail-biting win set up the potentially scintillating clash with the 21-year-old world No. 45, who will be looking to avenge the defeat of his compatriot.
Aruna made a flying start to his Saudi Smash campaign by coming from behind to beat Sharath Kamal Achanta 2-3 (11-8, 13-8, 8-11, 5-11, 11-13), who won two singles titles at the ITTF Pro Tour, the first in 2010, and reached the semi-finals in the men’s singles event at the 2017 World Championship.
Aruna’s virtuoso performance in the gruelling encounter delighted Nigerian women’s table tennis legend, Funke Oshonaike, who rooted ceaselessly for him and shared her excitement on her Facebook page after the match.”
What a match between the experience legend Achanta and our own Quadri Aruna! I was so very tensed because Achanta was leading 2-0. Aruna eventually won 3-2. yesssssssss! Me and table tennis sha na 5/6,” Oshonaike, the only woman to have participated in seven Olympic Games, said.
Battle-weary Aruna shared his experience in the match on the official website of the tournament saying, “It was really, really difficult to come back from 0-2 down. I was 8-2 up in the first game and 9-5 up in the second set, but I lost both, so I almost gave up. But I told myself not to give up, and the spirit of never giving up made the difference. In the end, I was very happy to win. I knew it was going to be 50/50 today. Achanta is a good player and a legend. I have learned a lot from him growing up. But I wasn’t intimidated. Thanks to all the fans who came to support me. They didn’t let me give up. They were the reason I kept on fighting, so I want to say thanks to all of them.
“The $2m prize money Saudi Smash 2024 is the sixth tournament of the WTT Series 2024. It started May 1 and will run through May 11 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Sports
Kenya Keeper Under Investigation For Match-Fixing
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.
Sports
UEFA Probes Real Players Over Indecent Conduct
Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
Sports
EPL To Have Two Transfer Windows
The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.
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