by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

The goal for the now 25 year old is to match or better the performance of two years ago at the Qoros 2015 World Championships in Suzhou.

In the Chinese city he beat Singapore’s Clarence Chew (11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8) and Chinese Taipei’s Huang Sheng-Sheng (10-12, 11-2, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7) to reach the third round of the Men’s Singles event. Progress was halted by Korea’s Lee Sangsu (11-2, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6).

Now Omar Assar, who plays for Istres in the French League, is looking forward with great anticipation to competing in Düsseldorf.

He spoke to Olalekan Okusan, the ITTF Africa Press Officer

Since I started playing at the World Championships in Zagreb, I have had a dream to make a new African record in this big tournament which I believe is achievable.

My target in Düsseldorf is to give an outstanding performance that I haven’t showed before at any competition. I have I always started my goals from the last achievement, so I hope I perform well and cause an upset in Düsseldorf.

Germany leads Europe in table tennis; also it has the best European players so the World Championships is a very special there. Also I expect many spectators and table tennis fans will come to enjoy the Championships. I believe the tournament is special. Apart from my performance, the atmosphere will add entertainment to the competition.

My preparation has two parts, first are my matches in the French League, while the second part is a training camp in Sweden with the Swedish and English teams in Halmstad.

I am very optimistic about the African players and I wish them all the best in the World Championships, especially Quadri Aruna, who is in good form currently in the French League. Also, I believe that it is a very good chance for any player to make history in Germany because it will be an unforgettable competition.

I wish all my teammates in the Egyptian team, as well as all Arab and African players, good luck in Düsseldorf.