Ibrahim Hamadtou lost both arms when he was hit by a train at the age of 10.
Now the world has fallen in love with the Egyptian Paralympian, whose determination knows no bounds.
Hamadtou is competing in table tennis, a sport where he ‘holds’ the paddle in his mouth, using his right foot to throw the ball in the air when he serves.
In an interview with CNN in 2014, he said the decision to use his mouth came after he tried a number of options, including balancing the paddle in his armpit.
“It was quite difficult playing table tennis after the accident,” Hamadtou told CNN.
“I had to practice hard for three consecutive years on a daily basis. At the beginning, people were amazed and surprised seeing me playing. They encouraged and supported me a lot and they were very proud of my willing, perseverance and determination.”
The 48-year-old father of three is a two-time silver medallist at the African Championships, competing in the class 6 category, which is for athletes who can stand, but have severe impairments.
Hamadtou starting playing three years after his accident, not accepting the absence of his arms as an excuse.
“In our village, we could only play, at that time, table tennis and soccer — that’s why I played both,” he said.
“It was logic to play soccer first due to my case; then I played table tennis as a challenge.”
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“I believe that nothing is impossible, as long as you work hard. This is the message I would like to send to people.”
The Egyptian opened his Tokyo campaign with a 3-0 loss to Korea’s Park Hong-kyu, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9.
He’ll be back in action tomorrow, when he plays China’s Chen Chao.
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