Table tennis: Egypt’s Omar Assar reaches World Championship quarters for first time in country’s history – Omni Sports – Sports

Egypt’s Omar Assar (R) competes against Taiwan’s Chuang Chih-yuan during their men’s singles round of 18 table tennis match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo July 27, 2021 (AFP)

Assar achieved this victory after defeating Croatia’s Tomislav Pucar 4-0 (11-6, 11-9, 12-10 and 11-8) in the round of 16 of the ongoing World Championships in Durban, South Africa.

Ranked 30th in the world, Assar will face a tough challenge in the quarterfinals on Friday against world number one player Fan Zhendong of China.

Zhendong, who won the world championships in 2021 and won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is expected to provide a formidable challenge to Assar.

Assar started his World Series with a 4-3 win over Ecuador’s Alberto Mino, followed by a 4-2 win over Kazakhstan’s Kirill Gerassimenko in the round of 64.

He then stunned world No. 10 Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-2 in the round of 32 on Wednesday.

Assar has also made history at the 2020 Olympics by becoming the first Egyptian table tennis player to reach the quarterfinals at the event.

He finished fifth in men’s singles at Tokyo 2020 after losing 4-1 in the quarterfinals to 2016 Olympic gold medalist and 2019 world champion Ma Long of China.

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