Omar Assar wins All Africa Table Tennis games and makes his way to 2012 London Olympics
The rising table tennis star Omar Assar proved his abilities at the Mozambique capital city of Maputo as he won his first ever All Africa games by defeating his Egyptian countryman El-Sayed Lashin in the four straight games.
It was his first appearance in the Africa games and he was the favourite before the start of the final as he defeated the most successful African player Segun Moses Toriola during the quarter-finals.
The 20-year-old had to play Ahmed Ali Saleh in the semi-finals after he defeated Toriola in a gruelling match that was stretched till the last set. It seems like the Nigerian star was the only hurdle in his way or it might have been the confidence that has
helped him winning the semi-final and the final with ease.
Match between Ahmed Ali Saleh and Omar went on for five sets as Omar won the first three sets 11-4, 11-4 and 7-11 before Ahmed fought back in the fourth set as he won by 11-7. Omar was only required to win one more set to have a go at the All Africa Games
final as he won the fifth set by 15-13 finishing Ahmed’s hopes of winning the final.
Assar was then to fight in the final against his compatriot El-Sayed Lashin as he cruised towards the victory with no trouble at all winning the first four games 11-7, 14-12, 11-8 and 11-3. Omar celebrated the biggest day of his career and proved his fitness
after a lot of questions were raised regarding the shoulder treatment he had undergone recently.
Omar entered the tournament with high hopes as his main goal was to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics for the Men’s singles event. Just before his shoulder operation in June the Egyptian mentioned that qualification for the London Olympics was his dream.
Assar has qualified for the Olympics 2012 as he won the All Africa Games and was unbeaten throughout the tournament defeating many senior players in terms of age, experience and ranking.
The list of players who have qualified for the table tennis event at London Olympics are Omar Assar of Egypt, El-Sayed Lashin of Egypt, Quadri Aruna of Nigeria, Segun Toriola of Nigeria, Suraju Saka and Saheed Idowu both of Congo Brazzaville.
Tags: