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Egypt’s Omar Assar advanced to the second round of the Men’s Singles at the ongoing 2025 ITTF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, with a dominant 4-1 victory over Croatia’s Frane Kojic.
In contrast, Nigeria’s trio—Olajide Omotayo, Matthew Kuti, and Muiz Adegoke—were eliminated in the first round after suffering defeats in their respective matches.
Assar, a quarterfinalist at the 2023 edition in Durban, South Africa, took control early in the match, employing aggressive tactics that left his Croatian opponent struggling.
He won the first set comfortably, 11-7, before dropping the second 9-11. The Egyptian star quickly regained his footing, taking the next three sets 11-9, 11-5, 11-4 to seal a 4-1 victory and join Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna in the second round.
Adegoke began positively against Belgium’s Adrien Rassenfosse, bouncing back from a 5-11 first-set loss to win the second 11-6.
However, a series of unforced errors and visible inexperience saw the Nigerian falter, eventually losing 1-4 (5-11, 11-6, 10-12, 3-11, 10-12).
ALSO READ: Nigeria shines as 2025 ITTF World Championships serve off
Kuti suffered a 0-4 (1-11, 11-13, 5-11, 5-11) defeat to Poland’s Samuel Kulczycki, while Omotayo went down 1-4 (10-12, 7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 5-11) to Brazil’s Leonardo Iizuka.
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In another thrilling encounter, Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz nearly caused a major upset, going head-to-head with Chinese superstar Lin Gaoyuan.
Despite a spirited performance, Abdelaziz lost 2-4 (6-11, 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6). Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa was no match to Japan’s Kenji Matsudaira as he lost 4-0 (8-11, 7-11, 3-11, 10-12).
Africa’s remaining contenders will continue their campaign in the Men’s Singles, with Assar set to face Portugal’s Marcos Freitas and Aruna taking on Norway’s Borgar Haug.
In the Women’s Singles, Madagascar’s Hanitra Raharimanana will clash with Germany’s Sabine Winter, while Egypt’s Hana Goda meets Brazil’s Giulia Takahashi. Meanwhile, Yousra Helmy of Egypt will face Turkey’s Sibel Altinkaya in the second round.
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