If you have got the strong willpower then you can overcome any struggles and achieve anything in life. Such is the story of Egypt’s Ibrahim Hamadtou, who plays table tennis, where he puts a paddle in his mouth and uses his right foot to throw the ball up to serve.
The journey of Ibrahim Hamadtou who shines at the world stage with his unique skills
Ibrahim Hamadtou’s story is one of the most inspirational images of the Paralympics Games. He hails from the village Kafr Saad EL-Balad in Damietta city of Egypt. Lost both his arms in a train accident. And after such an incident, no one would’ve thought that Hamadtou will represent his country at the Paralympics. But with his determination, hard work, dedication, and never-give-up spirit he started playing Table Tennis a few years after the accident.
For a year after his accident, Hamadtou did not leave his house except at night. Because he did not like the look of pity and sympathy that people had when they saw him. Firstly, Hamadtou started playing football with his friends but got injured few times as he wasn’t able to balance properly. Then he started visiting the youth center and one day table tennis caught his interest and the rest is history as they say.
In an interview, Hamadtou said: “I was in the club where I was officiating a match between two of my friends. They disagreed on a point, when I counted the point in favor of one of them the other player told me, do not interfere as you will never be able to play. It was that statement that fired me up to decide to play table tennis.”
Hamadtou bagged three silver medals within three years
Hamadtou came into the limelight after winning three silver medals. He won two medals in the 2011 and 2013 African Championships and one at the 2013 Egypt Open. And then came the life-changing moment in 2014, when a video of Ibrahim Hamatdou was posted by the table tennis governing body on YouTube. He received a lot of applauds, appreciation and became popular on the internet.
Paralympics debut at the age of 43
Hamadtou made his Paralympics debut in Rio 2016 at the age of 43. He finished ninth in the team event and 11th in the singles event in the Class 6 table tennis Paralympic category. And with the same resolution and strong willpower Hamadtou rose through the ranks to qualify for Tokyo 2020.
