Boosted by his second Arab Championship men’s singles title, Egypt’s Mohammed El-Beiali believes he will be a contender for the title at the 2018 ITTF African Championship holding in Mauritius on September 3 to 9.
The Egyptian is also aiming to lead Egypt against Nigeria in the men’s team event of the tournament which serves as qualifiers for the ITTF World Team Cup in 2020.
From his maiden men’s title in 2013 of the Arab Championship in Iraq, Mohammed El-Beiali few weeks ago added the 2018 edition to his laurels after beating compatriot- Ahmed Saleh in the epic final in the absence of perennial winner – Omar Assar.
READ ALSO 2019: Be vigilant, don’t return Nigeria to Egypt – Lai Mohammed
The Egyptian was in Lagos few days ago for the ITTF Challenge Seamaster Nigeria Open but his dream of replicating the feat set by Omar Assar was rubbished when he was overwhelmed by Romanian teenager, Sipos Rares in the round of 16 of the men’s singles.
But undaunted by this setback, Mohammed El-Beiali is hoping that he will be in race for the men’s singles title in one of the Africa’s flagship tournaments in the Island of Mauritius.
“My dreams and goals are to ensure that we did not miss Omar Assar much in the team particularly when playing against a strong team like Nigeria.
I must admit that we will surely miss him (Omar Assar) in the team but with the youthfulness of Khaled Assar and the experience of Ahmed Saleh we can conquer Nigeria in the team event.
My partnership with Khaled Assar will also rule the men’s doubles. Personally, my target is the men’s singles title and I hope I can win it this time around,” he said.