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Tag: Assar

  • Egypt’s Assar reclaims spot as Africa’s best-ranked star

    Egypt’s Assar reclaims spot as Africa’s best-ranked star

    Omar Assar’s performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has catapulted him up the world rankings.

    The Egyptian table tennis star moved up five places to secure the 17th spot in the ITTF Ranking, as announced on Tuesday, August 6, during Week 32 of 2024.

    This shift has placed Assar at the pinnacle of African table tennis, surpassing Quadri Aruna, who now occupies the 20th  place.

    Despite a disappointing 4-1 loss to Sweden’s Truls Moregard in the Men’s Singles quarterfinal, Assar has set a new African record by becoming the first from the continent to reach consecutive quarterfinals in the Olympics, matching Nigeria’s Aruna’s feat from Rio 2016 at Tokyo 2020.

    Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, despite an early exit in Paris, climbed six places to 83rd while Olajide Omotayo, the 2019 African Games champion, leaped 12 places to 92nd , becoming the second-best mover in Africa.

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    Nigeria-born Saheed Idowu, representing Congo Brazzaville, lost a thrilling 4-3 match to Sweden’s Anton Kallberg but won the hearts of many, moving up 16 places to the 100th  spot.

    Egypt’s Dina Meshref continues to dominate the African rankings, ascending two places to 24th, while Hana Goda also made gains, moving up to 31st. Nigeria’s Offiong Edem re-entered the top 100, climbing 14 places to 97th.

    The retired Cameroonian star Sarah Hanffou concluded her career ranked 109th , and Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello made a significant jump of 26 places to 118th  in the latest rankings.

    These movements reflect the dynamic and competitive nature of African table tennis, showcasing the talent and resilience of its players on the global stage.

  • Macao 2024: Aruna, Assar get tough ITTF World Cups’ test

    Macao 2024: Aruna, Assar get tough ITTF World Cups’ test

    Quadri Aruna has been drawn in Group 15 of the men’s singles  at the ITTF World Cups Macao 2024 where  the Nigerian will slug it out against Portugal’s Marcos Freitas and Puerto Rico’s Daniel Gonzalez.

    Egypt’s Omar Assar has also been handed a tough task of progressing from the group.

    The 48 players have been drawn into 16 groups of three players in each group with the winner in each group advancing to the second stage of the competition.

    Aruna who has been regular face at the ITTF World Cups remains the first and only African to have reached the quarterfinal stage of the $1m prize money tournament and he is expected to begin his campaign against Portugal’s Freitas on Monday, April 15 while his last group match will be on Tuesday, April 16 against Puerto Rico’s Gonzalez.

    Also, Egypt’s trio of Omar Assar, Ahmed Saleh and Mohamed El-Beiali have been drawn into group 16, 11 and nine respectively.

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    African Games champion Assar will slug it out against Sweden’s Truls Moregard and Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan.

    Egyptian veteran Saleh has been handed a tough group 11 as he will battle former European champion Dan Qui of Germany and Japan’s Shunsuke Togami. El-Beiali who is debuting at the ITTF World will jostle for top spot against Korea’s Jang Woojin and France’s Simon Gauzy in group nine.

    Also, three Egyptians and a Cameroonian will represent Africa in the women’s singles as Yousra Helmy, Hana Goda and Mariam Alhodaby will campaign in group nine, 12 and 11 while Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou will compete in 11 alongside Korea’s Joo Cheonhui  and Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi.

    According to ITTF,  top seed Wang Chuqin of China is set to commence this inaugural Men’s World Cup campaign against Kirill Gerassimenko and An Jaehyun in Group 1.

    With flawless head-to-head records against both opponents (2:0 against Gerassimenko and 5:0 against An), Wang appears to have a favourable path to progress to the next stage.

    With two previous titles in Macao at the WTT Champions Macao 2023 and 2022, Wang is setting the stage for an impressive performance next week that is sure to delight fans.

  • Assar edges Aruna to reclaim African Games  title 

    Assar edges Aruna to reclaim African Games  title 

    • Goda completes hat-trick 

    Egypt’s Omar Assar reclaimed the title he surrendered in 2019 after an energy-sapping final against Quadri Aruna of Nigeria at the 13th  African Games taking place in Accra, Ghana.

    Assar, played his heart out against one of his arch-rivals on the continent as  he prevailed 4-3 to reclaim the men’ singles  title as well as the second gold medals for Egypt at the games.

    However, Aruna’s search for his first gold medal in the men’s singles continues after the loss in the final.

    Considered as the battle of two elephants, the match lived up to expectations with Aruna and Assar entertaining the fans with their superlative display but it was Assar who laughed last to claim the second gold medal for Egypt at the African Games.

    Also, at 16, Hana Goda has become the youngest player in African table tennis history to win the three titles in the continent after adding that African Games laurel to her hauls  in Ghana.

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    Goda, who is making her debut at the African Games dethroned her compatriot and defending champion Dina Meshref in an explosive final at the Accra International Conference Centre.

    Cheered by her mother and teeming Ghanaian fans, Goda showed class and composure to overcome  her experienced opponent at 4-2 to add the African Games titles to African Cup and Championships gongs she claimed last year at the expense of Meshref.

    “I can’t just believe I have added the African Games title to my laurels but I must admit that it was not easy especially with the sixth game which I won. I was a bit nervous toward the end of the match. This is the best moment of my career and I cannot just imagine myself winning in my first outing. This is a great moment for me,” Goda said.

    Goda made global acclaim at  11 as she became the first African to be ranked No 1 in the world in the U-15 cadet category when she was 12.

    In 2023, she became the youngest to win the African Senior Championship at 15.

    Goda is Paris 2024 bound with team Egypt for the Olympic Games this summer.

  • French League: Quadri humiliates Assar to lift Jura Morez to seventh place

    French League: Quadri humiliates Assar to lift Jura Morez to seventh place

    This year, Aruna Quadri has played second fiddle to Omar Assar in continental tournaments but last week in the Premier division of French Table Tennis League, Quadri mesmerised Assar to take his team, Jura Morez to seventh place on the league table.

    Out of the four titles won by Assar this year, three of them were at the expense of Quadri with the last being the men’s singles laurel at the 2015 African Games in Congo Brazzaville.

    However, Quadri has put the losses behind him and as a professional who understood the dynamism of sport, the 2014  ITTF Star Player showed his class against Assar as both players led their teams – Jura Morez and Istres in the league encounter hosted by Jura Morez.

    The encounter provided another opportunity for  Africa’s two  best players to test might and showed supremacy against each other.

    But it was Quadri’s teammate, Zhen Wang that drew the first blood against French international, Benjamin Brossier with the Chinese-born star winning 11-4, 11-3, 11-8 to give Jura Morez a 1-0 lead.

    The onus of increasing the lead now rested on Quadri when he battled Assar in the second game and the two players threw caution to the wind to give the spectators something to cheer.

    As if Quadri wanted to revenge the defeats he has suffered in the hand of the Egyptian, the Nigerian wasted no time in humiliating Assar 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 for Jura Morez to take a 2-0 lead.

    Andre Sliva compounded the woe of Istres when he walloped Paul Gauzy 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 to keep the encounter beyond their opponent.

    As the star player of Istres, Assar returned to the table to restore his team’s hope but he met his waterloo against Zhen Wang who completed the rout at 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 to record the fastest win in the history of the French league.

    In an unsportsmanship attitude, Assar left the venue without the usual embrace of opponents synonymous with sports. Aside this, he also abandoned his team to the disappointment of everybody at the venue.

    However, Quadri described the victory as a boost to his team, while describing the win against Assar as a confirmation of his improvement since joining the French League.

    “I am happy not because I beat Assar but that my team was able to escape the relegation zone and move to seventh place in the league. This is a major victory for us even as we look forward to our next match on Monday December 21 against fourth place side – Boulogne Billancourt, which has England international, Paul Drinkhall in its fold. We hope we can maintain our stand to 2016,” Quadri said.

  • Quadri, Assar finish in top eight of men’s doubles

    Quadri, Assar finish in top eight of men’s doubles

    The partnership of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri and Omar Assar in the men’s doubles of the ITTF World Tour tagged Polish Open inscribed Africa in the annals of history as the two best players from the continent finished among the top eight at the tournament.

    Quadri and Assar started their campaigns from the preliminary stage where they shocked teams from India, France, and Hungary to qualify to the main draw of 16 teams.

    However, the prowess took them further in the main draw when they caused one of the upsets as they defeated number seven seed duo of Portugal’s Marcos Freitas  and Croatia’s Andrej Gacina, 11-4, 5-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3 to set up a quarterfinal tie against another giant-killing duo of Portugal’s Tiago Apolonia and João Monteiro.

    Apolonia and Monteiro had accounted for the exit of number two seed, China’s Zhan Jike and Fan Zhendong in the round of 16. But Quadri and Assar could not withstand the fiery style and pace of the Europeans as they succumbed 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 to be among the top eight in the men’s doubles.

    In the men’s singles, African champion, Assar who has been seeded among the top 32 and playing from the main draw could not play more than a match as he fell 4-3 to Russia’s Alexander Shibaev.

    Unlike Assar, Quadri made Nigeria proud when he displayed exceptional skills against Sweden’s KARLSSON Kristian with a 4-0 (11-7,11-6,11-9,11-9) bashing of the Swedish star.

    But the 2014 ITTF star player was unlucky to have been drawn in the same line with world number two and tournament number two seed, China’s Xu Xin. As expected Quadri was no match to the Chinese star as he was walloped 4-11,4-11,4-11,7-11 to exit to the men’s single in the second round as the most successful African in the tournament.

    Meanwhile, Quadri has described his partnership with his continental rival as the best, while yearning for more collaboration with the Egyptian.

  • Nigeria, Egypt can do well in China – Assar

    Nigeria, Egypt can do well in China – Assar

    Being the only player to do Africa proud at the 2013 edition of the World Championship in Paris, France, Egypt’s Omar Assar believes he is looking beyond this performance in Suzhou, China, considering the giant stride he made in the last two months. But he said with Nigeria assembling  a strong side, the two nations can do the continent proud.

    Being the second player in the continent to be seeded in the continent after Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri  among the top 64 players in the men’s singles, the Lagos Open champion is hopeful that Nigeria and Egypt can do well in the ongoing ITTF World Championships holding in China.

    He, however, hinges his optimism on the quality of preparation by the Egyptian team in the last four weeks as well as the quality of the Nigerian players led by Quadri, Segun Toriola and Kazeem Makanjuola.

    “I know for any African team to do well in China, it all depends on preparation because I can only talk about the Egyptian team because we had an extensive training at the new national camp in Cairo and this has put us in good shape for this competition. And from what I see the Nigerian players doing in training, I believe if they can practicalise this, they are also in good shape to do well,” he said.

    The ITTF Africa Senior Champion added: “After the European season ended, we have been training well for this championship in Cairo. So technically and tactically, we are ready for this tournament. There is no pressure on me at all considering my improvement in the last two months. I know people still talk about my performance at the 2013 edition where I made it to the round of 32 before losing narrowly by 4-3 to Greece’s Panagiotis Gionis but for me I am looking beyond this and to be able to do better than that. I really want to do better this year because African players are now being looked up so we must raise our game to be among the top in this tournament. There is no doubt that playing in China, especially with the fans always there, you are sure you can beat any player. But personally I am hopeful and believing that African players can do well,” Assar said.

    For Assar the feat achieved by Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri would have made the continent the cynosure of all eyes but this should make the players from Africa to be relaxed believing  they will run over others. “I think we need to do something as Africans in this competition and I believe we can all perform well than what I did in 2013,” he added.

  • This year’s victory was much harder-Assar

    This year’s victory was much harder-Assar

    For Egypt’s Omar Assar, retaining the title at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour, Lagos Open was much harder compared to previous victories especially playing against fans’ favourite, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri in the men’s singles final.

    Assar added to his list of titles in the splendid setting of Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium claiming his third title in a row in Lagos.

    “It was a difficult match for me because at the start of the match, I was disturbed by the noise from the fans but as the match progressed I adjusted and I started playing normally and my tactics began to work. It was a very tough match because Aruna has been in top shape in recent times. He defeated me in the team event at the last Africa Senior Championship in Cairo,” Assar said.

    He added: “I am so happy that I was able to defend my title and having the record of winning it thrice. Lagos is a good ground for me and I look forward to returning next year.”

    At the semi-final stage he accounted for Portugal’s André Silva, the fourth seed, in four straight games (11-8, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7), before securing the title at the final expense of Quadri, the top seed, in a six games’ contest (12-10, 13-15, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).

    In the counterpart semi-final, Quadri had beaten compatriot Ojo Onaolapo in four straight games (13-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7).

    One year ago in Lagos, he beat colleague, El-Sayed Lashin in the final (11-5, 13-11, 2-11, 11-6, 11-8), after having overcome Quadri in the semi-final (11-5, 13-11, 2-11, 11-6, 11-8).

    Suffering heartaches again for Quadri at the hands of Assar but one step higher on the medal podium and his best ever finish to date on the ITTF World Tour.

    In addition to winning in 2014, Assar also succeeded in 2013 when the tournament was known as the Lagos International Classic.

    In the women’s singles, Assar’s compatriot, Dina Meshref, the top seed, was beaten in the final of the Women’s Singles event by Portugal’s Shao Jieni, a player who has excelled domestically but was not seeded in Lagos.

    Jieni, who lost to Meshref earlier in the tournament at the semi-final stage of the U-21 Women’s Singles event (11-6, 11-8, 11-8), extracted revenge; she beat Meshref in a full distance seven games encounter (11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 10-12, 13-11, 11-8).

    At the semi-final stage Jieni had beaten Nigeria’s Olufunke Oshonaike (11-5, 11-5, 13-11, 11-3); Meshref had accounted for Offiong Edem, also from Nigeria.

    “It was a very hard match for me and it was a high level game because Shao Jieni changed service and this really confused me. It is always not easy to beat a certain player three times; she is very good”, said Meshref.

    It was for Jieni, Oshonaike and Edem their best ever finishes in a Women’s Singles event on the ITTF World Tour.

    Prior to the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Lagos Open, Jieni had never progressed beyond the first round, whilst the best for Oshonaike and Edem was a quarterfinal exit one year ago in Lagos.

    Defeat at the hands of Jieni but together there was success. They secured the Women’s Doubles title beating the host nation’s Cecilia Akpan and Offiong Edem in the final (13-11, 11-7, 13-15, 11-2).

    The silver medal was won by Nigeria in the Women’s Doubles event, in their counterpart Men’s Doubles competition it was gold. Quadri and Kazeem Makanjuola, who had emerged successful at the ITTF-Africa Championships earlier in the year, struck gold.

    They beat the Portuguese partnership of André Silva and Diogo Silva to claim the title (11-6, 11-8, 11-9).