Alkass Digital
German table tennis star Dimitrij Ovtcharov, ranked World No. 12, and Qatar’s national team player and Arab table tennis champion Mohamed Abdel Wahab played out an exhibition match at the Lusail Sports Hall yesterday which was witnessed by a number of promising “Dream Team” players including Sultan Al Kuwari, Rawad Al Nasser and Ahmed Eid, Abdul Aziz Al Abad and Rabia Al Kuwari.
The match was part of the promotional campaign of the Qatar Football Association and the local organizing committee for the WTT International Championships, which Qatar will host from January 3 to 25, 2024 as also the finals of the WTT Finals Men’s Professional Tours which will see the participation of the 16 strongest players in table tennis at the world level.
Mohamed Abdel Wahab in action during the exhibition match.
The exhibition tie was also attended by Khalil bin Ahmed Al Muhannadi, President of the Qatari, Arab and Asian Federations, First Vice-President of the International Table Tennis Federation, Nabil Al Faqih, Executive Director of the Asian Table Tennis Federation, Ali Sultan Al Muftah, Assistant Secretary of the Qatari Federation, Khaled Ali Al Kuwari, Director of the National Teams and a number of representatives.
Later, Ovtcharov praised the distinguished organization of Qatar’s hosting of the four international tournaments in January and the high standards of playing conditions and training courts, stressing that they are at the highest level of professionalism.
Ovtcharov said: “I feel very excited and excited to be here in Qatar again, and at the same hall where I won the last title in 2020, six months ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and now 6 months before the Paris Olympics. I will also participate in a tournament in Qatar and I look forward to it towards achieving the same success. I prepare hard and work hard in training to be ready for the Olympics.”
Regarding Qatar’s hosting of the World Professional Table Tennis Tour Finals, the Olympic champion said: “It is absolutely incredible that such a major event is hosted only one month before its date, after Japan apologized and pulled out from hosting and I believe that this is like a miracle in light of the difficulty of preparing for such an event. During this very short time, especially with the presence of elite world champions, but from what I saw today everything seems amazing and I am very happy to return to Qatar again.”
Regarding his ambitions on a personal level, Ovicharov revealed that he aspires to win one or two medals during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and to continue writing history.
The 35-year-old Ovtcharov is considered one of the most prominent table tennis players in the world and has succeeded in winning 6 Olympic medals (2 silver and 4 bronze) so far making him the most decorated Olympic player in table tennis.
Ovtcharov was previously crowned world champion in singles in 2017, and was also crowned European champion 4 times in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017.