The only surviving African player in the ongoing Durban 2023 ITTF World Championships, Omar Assar of Egypt ignited the atmosphere at the International Convention Centre (ICC) when he stunned his European opponent Tomslav Pucar of Croatia to qualify for the quarterfinal of the men’s singles.
The win also made Assar equal the quarterfinal record set by Quadri Aruna of Nigeria at the 2021 edition of the championships held in Houston Texas in the United States. He is also the second African player in the history of the World Championships to reach the quarterfinal of the men’s singles.
To throw the venue into frenzy jubilation, Assar was flawless in his out-of-this-world performance against Pucar to record a commanding 4-0 (11-9, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8) win and a place in the last eight of the tournament.
An elated Assar thanked the fans for their constant support during the encounter and he singled out his continental rival Aruna for his singular support while acknowledging the oneness between Nigeria and Egypt during the match.
“I am following my big brother Quadri Aruna as he always has a lead, he is an amazing player, top player and I always encourage him, like what he was doing today was phenomenal. You don’t see so much a player from another nation who supports his friend and teammate like what Aruna did today. I would really like to thank him, it means a lot to me, that is why I hugged him after the match. It was not planned but I really felt like that, so thanks Aruna; thanks you team Egypt, team Nigeria and team Africa, I am very happy,” Assar said.
He described Durban as a home away from home. “In general playing in Durban means a lot to me, it means playing in Africa because I feel like it’s home already from day one; as it feels like African Championships, you get to see your friends from other African countries which is really amazing. And I felt it well directly in the hall, which helped me a lot and to play such a big event in Africa it makes me proud. But to reach the quarterfinals I am over the sky right now.”