by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF-Africa Press Officer
Resident in France as a junior where he honed his skills, the 27 year old made his debut for Senegal at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships; now based in Denmark but continuing to play in the French League, Ibrahima Diaw is now a major contender for honours in African competitions.
“Winning my first ITTF title at senior level was a really nice experience. Before going to the tournament, I had no idea that there was a chance that I could actually win. As the tournament proceeded, more and more people started to follow my matches both in the hall but also from back home in Denmark, Senegal and France. Honestly, right now I think that I haven’t really realised the results I made yet. I am really happy and proud to bring this title to Senegal as well.” Ibrahima Diaw
Immediately he struck an understanding with the left handed Padasak Tanviriyavechakul. Following a first round win against India’s Siddesh Pande and Manav Vikash Thakkar (11-4, 11-8, 11-9), the duo accounted for the French partnership of Benjamin Brossier and Antoine Hachard (7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6) to book their place in the semi-finals where the good form continued.
They accounted for Singapore’s Clarence Chew and Pang Yew En Koen (11-7, 12-10, 5-11, 11-13, 11-9), prior to securing the title at the hands of Hong Kong’s Kwan Man Ho and Lam Siu Hang (11-8, 11-8, 12-10).
“In the doubles event I played for the first time with Padasak. A few years ago we practised and played in a team together in the best league in Sweden, so I know him and his game really well. The hardest match was against the French pair Antoine Hachard and Benjamin Brossier. I knew that they played really well together but Padasak and I managed to find a tactic that worked really well; when we won that match, we realised that we had a chance to win the following match and therefore go far in the tournament.
The next round we won 3-2, after leading 2-0. The match was hard and we had to fight and help each other as the tournament got longer and we got more and more tired. In the final we played against a pair from Hong Kong. Funny enough, this was actually the match where we struggled the least. All in all, it was a really tough tournament for me with many matches in both the singles and doubles events. I am really happy that I managed to perform that week in most of the matches.” Ibrahima Diaw
Clearly, for Ibrahima Diaw, this feat was a confirmation of his hard work.
“It is hard to say yet how this is going to have an impact on my career. Winning this tournament in doubles and achieving a semi-final in singles has of course given me a lot of confidence and motivation to improve even more. The biggest difference from before the tournament to now, is that more people know who I am; when people asked who I was and I answered that I am from Senegal and currently number 115 in the world a lot of people were surprised. My next goal is enter the top 100 world ranking which I hope is not too far from now. Winning my first ITTF title at senior level is just the beginning of hopefully a lot more titles.
“I think the best word to describe this feeling is proud. I am so happy to represent Senegal and put them on the world map of table tennis. For them, a title like this is something that has never been achieved before and that is of course a really big thing to be a part of. Next week I am going to Senegal with the ITTF for the Youth Olympic Games in 2022 that will take place in Dakar. I hope that the combination of the title from Indonesia can kick-start the development of table tennis in Senegal and make many more Senegalese experience the best sport in the world.” Ibrahima Diaw