BY Remi Sulola
Omar Assar, Egyptian tennis star, has defeated Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri 4-3 in the entertaining final of the 2018 ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup in Nairobi, Kenya.
Assar and Quadri dazzled fans in an explosive finale on Saturday at the Kasarani Hall of Moi International Sports Centre — but the Egyptian took the day and lifted the trophy.
Another Egyptian, Dina Meshref, claimed the women’s event at the three-day tournament.
Meshref, the defending champion, was at her best against Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou. She won the match 4-1 to retain her title.
By virtue of their respective wins, Assar and Meshref have qualified for the 2018 ITTF World Cup.
An excited Meshref said: “I am quite happy that my dream of making it to the ITTF World Cup has become a reality because the tournament is special to me.”
“Against Sarah, I was a bit calm and think well before making any tactical decision.
“I did not really expect her to give me a tough time, but after the first two games, she played well to raise the game and I must commend her for putting up a good performance.”
Nigeria’s Edem Offiong and Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh settled for bronze after beating Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi and Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu in their respective third-place matches.
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