Int’l Table Tennnis Classics: I’ll Be Back In Lagos —Assar

Basking in the euphoria of his victory over Nigerian Olusegun Moses Toriola in the men’s singles of the just concluded Lagos International Table Tennis Classics, Egyptian Omar Assar has declared that he will love to come back to the city of Lagos next to play in the International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF, sanctioned championship.

Even though the crowd support was overwhelmed for the Nigerian star, Toriola, Assar proved the superman of the crucial tie as the 22 years old Egyptian player carried the day in the final with an emphatic 4-2 victory (11-9, 11-4, 13-15, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9).

“I am happy that I became the champion of this tournament and it will go down in history and for me I am so excited coming to Nigeria to win the title. I thank the ATTF President, Khaled El-Salhy for facilitating my participation in the tournament. I enjoyed my stay in Nigeria and I hope to come back next year and also meet Toriola in the final.

Toriola thanked Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola for hosting the competition, adding that “I really wanted to win the title for the country and the fans but things just went the other way. There is no doubt that Assar played very well and he gave his best. For me, it was exciting making it to the final and I want to thank the fans for their steadfastness in supporting all the players and I hope to see more of this being staged in Nigeria.”

The women’s singles was won by Nigeria’s Cecilia Otu-Akpan who beat compatriot Edem Offiong 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9.

—Taiwo Adelu