By Victor Kanayo
Egypt table tennis great Omar Assar is now number one in Africa, according to latest ranking.
This followed his performance at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games which pushed him up the world rankings.
The Egyptian table tennis star moved up five places to secure the 17th spot in the ITTF Ranking.
This shift has placed Assar at the pinnacle of African table tennis, surpassing his rival Quadri Aruna, who now occupies the 20th place
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Despite a disappointing 4-1 loss to Sweden’s Truls Moregard in the Men’s Singles quarterfinal, Assar has set a new African record by becoming the first from the continent to reach consecutive quarter-final in the Olympics, matching Nigeria’s Aruna’s feat from Rio 2016 at Tokyo 2020.
Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, despite an early exit, climbed six places to 83rd.
Olajide Omotayo, the 2019 African Games champion, leaped 12 places to 92nd, becoming the second-best mover in Africa.
Nigeria-born Saheed Idowu, representing Congo Brazzaville, lost a thrilling 4-3 match to Sweden’s Anton Kallberg but won the hearts of many, moving up 16 places to the 100th spot.
Egypt’s Dina Meshref continues to dominate the African rankings, ascending two places to 24th, while Hana Goda also made gains, moving up to 31st. Nigeria’s Offiong Edem re-entered the top 100, climbing 14 places to 97th.
The retired Cameroonian star Sarah Hanffou concluded her career ranked 109th, and Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello made a significant jump of 26 places to 118th in the latest rankings.
