A top New Zealand Davis Cup tennis player has issued an apology after he was filmed supposedly mocking Mãori culture while at a party on a $21 million dollar boat owned by toy giant Zuru founder Nick Mowbray on Wednesday night.
Ajeet Rai, 22, will reportedly be sanctioned by Tennis New Zealand after videos showing him and several other partygoers performing the pukana while using a stick as a taiaha was posted to social media by Belgian DJ Netsky. Both Rai and Netsky have since apologised for the video. The video has now been removed.
The video appeared to have been filmed as part of New Zealand’s America’s Cup victory on Wednesday, but since Rai was performing neither a haka nor a waiata in the video, there had been no explanation as to why he would have been performing the pukana.
Rai in an Instagram post on Friday apologised to anyone who might have been hurt by his actions, saying that as a representative of New Zealand, he had always been nothing but proud to perform the haka and to also show the rest of the world the beauty of the country’s indigenous culture.
Tennis New Zealand shortly after the incident posted a social media entry of its own to Instagram, saying that the organisation was disappointed at the behaviour displayed by Rai in the video, and that the appropriate sanctions would be applied.
The organisation first became aware of the video after it had been sent in the form of a link to Tennis NZ by Shaneel Lal, who is the co-founder of End Conversion Therapy NZ.
TOP online betting SITESApril 2021
|
# | Site | | NZ | Rating | Bonus | Bet |
---|
1 |  | Ladbrokes |  | 5/5 | 100% Match up to $250 NZD | Bet now Review |
2 |  | Palmerbet |  | 4.9/5 | 100% Match | Bet now
|

Trent Wilson is OnlineBetting.nz’s resident sports news expert. He draws on his extensive sporting knowledge, his qualification in sports management and his passion for betting to provide the latest, most up to date information on sporting events in New Zealand and across the globe. Trent is a veritable treasure trove of sports information and has been betting online for several years. He prides himself in keeping his readers informed, and in always offering an unbiased standpoint that reflects exactly what’s going on in the sports world.
View Posts - Visit Website You May Also Like:
New Zealander Michael Venus has made a phenomenal start to this year’s Australian Open doubles competition. He and Aussie partner John Peers made quick work of dealing with top Australian singles player Alex De Minaur and mate Matt Reid at an impressive score of 6-3, 6-2 in all of 64 ….
Since quarantine requirements have dealt a death blow to several top local sporting tournament events, including Auckland’s ASB Classic, local tennis fans now have their sights set on December’s Te Anau Invitational. Alongside similar classics such as the Wellington Open / New Zealand Championship, the upcoming invitational remains one of ….
Italy’s Sara Errani – a 2012 French Open runner-up – says she didn’t “buy” Kiki Bertens’ claims of cramps bad enough to justify being wheeled from a Roland Garros tennis court in a wheelchair. She also appeared to mock her opponent’s cramps and even went as far as refusing to ….
Caroline Wozniacki, former world number one, has announced that she will be officially retiring from the sport after the end of the Australian Open in January. The 29 year old is currently 27th in the world, and had last competed in the China Open that took place in October. The ….
Next year’s ASB Classic could be the last one that Caroline Wozniacki takes part in, according to tournament director Karl Budge. The director announced the full field recently, confirming that Wozniacki would be playing along with other previous grand slam winners, including Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Jelena Ostapenko. They will be ….