by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

In the group stage of the Men’s Singles event, he finished in third place behind Slovakia’s Peter Sereda and Marcus Waerstad; whilst in the Men’s Doubles event, in partnership with the Ivory Coast’s Kizito Oba, it was defeat on his first visit to the table, he was beaten by England’s David McBeath and Sam Walker (11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-2).

Similarly, the fortunes were no better in the Mixed Doubles competition. In partnership with Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou, it was a preliminary round exit, beaten by Cuba’s Andy Pereira and Idalys Lovet (12-10, 11-5, 14-12).

Currently, Hamidou Sow lives in Paris; he started his career with Levallois in the Fourth Division but now plays in Germany.

He spoke to Olalekan Okusan, the ITTF-Africa Press Officer

My first outing at a World Championships was at the 2013 edition in Paris and since then my dream has been to play at the Olympic Games. For me it is a long time project, which I think it is achievable; when I started table tennis at 14 years of age, I was looking up to the likes of Segun Toriola, who for me has been an inspiration to a lot of African players with his style and commitment to the sport in the continent.

I know I have to be better to be able to rub shoulders with those top players in Africa. I am determined to challenge for the Olympic Games in 2020. So all the efforts I have been making are toward fulfilling my dream of becoming the first Senegalese table tennis player to feature at the Olympic Games.

Supported by my parents and the Senegal Table Tennis Association, I have been honing my skills towards making my dream to become a reality. I must also admit that it is a tall dream but I am ready to follow even if I could not make it in 2020, I will pursue it till 2024.