Meet Egypt’s Ibrahim Hamadtou whose table tennis skills will leave you surprised
The 48-year-old table tennis player had lost both his arms in a train accident when he was 10 years old.
Players at the ongoing Paralympic Games in Tokyo are truly a source of inspiration. Their strong will power to overcome their struggles and make the best of the situation is something to be learnt from. One such Paralympian is Egypt’s Ibrahim Hamadtou, who is representing the country in the Table Tennis game.
The 48-year-old table tennis player had lost both his arms in a train accident when he was 10 years old. Since then, he has come a long way to now participate in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
In an interview to the Olympics, Hamadtou shared how playing table tennis came his way. He said that his friend had suggested to him that he should “stick to something he could do.” This statement had generated the spark and the will and determination. Hamadtou said that he wanted to prove to him that despite having no arms he could practise a sport like table tennis.
Little did he know that his iron will would end up making him a world champion and a Paralympian. Hamadtou won three silver medals, two in the 2011 and 2013 African Championships and one at the 2013 Egypt Open.
A resident of village Kafr Saad EL-Balad in Damietta city of Egypt, Hamadtou holds the table tennis racket with his mouth and serves the ball with a deft movement of his feet.
For a year after his accident, Hamadtou did not leave his house except at nights because he did not like the look of pity and sympathy that people had when they saw him. Hamadtou started playing football with his friends as he started going out a year after the accident. However, balancing became a problem for him. Eventually, it was table tennis that caught his interest which he pursued with sheer determination.
Watch him play here:
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