Site Products
Omar Assar: 2018 African Cup

BUTTERFLY FAVORITES: Omar Assar v. Quadri Aruna 2018 Africa Cup

(by Steve Hopkins)

This is a Butterfly Favorite.  To set the stage, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna had won the Africa Cup two years in a row.  The Africa Cup serves as that continent’s qualification event for the World Cup, and like North America, there aren’t a lot of athletes that qualify by World Ranking so winning this event is the only sure route to the World Cup and to the Olympics.  Omar Assar of Egypt entered this event in the shadow of Aruna.  He had had his successes and had competed in the 2012 Olympics, but in major competitions he had yet to break through to the next tier.

But this was a changing of the guard in African table tennis. The 2018 African Cup saw Assar excel through the draw and then finally overcome his top rival.  The final helped launch him to a rating peak, and he came back in 2019 and won the title again.


A message from Omar Assar.  Assar uses a customized Butterfly inner fiber carbon (very similar to the ALC Innerforce Blade) and Tenergy 05.  Check out the Timo Boll ALC ST Pro-Line (an ALC blade with Tenergy 05 pre-assembled)

https://www.facebook.com/butterflyttofficial/videos/1334668800054343/

Latest News

WAB CLUB FEATURE: Folsom Table Tennis Club

September 14, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins) The Folsom Table Tennis Club has two locations nestled in the greater Sacramento region of… Read More

WTT Champions Macao: A New Number One ?

September 14, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The surprises ended on the final day, as the higher seed won each of… Read More

ITTF Pan American U11 & U13 Championships: Recap

September 14, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo USATT) The ITTF Pan American U11 & U13 Championships concluded last week in Antigua… Read More

WTT Champions Macao: Anders Lind Makes Semis

September 13, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) Anders Lind headlined the penultimate day with a 4-3 upset win over World No.… Read More

Sally Moyland – WTT Spokane Singles & Doubles Highlights

September 13, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Bowmar Sports Highlights, Sally Moyland is in action in Singles & Doubles play at… Read More

WTT Champions Macao: Final Eight

September 12, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins) World No. 1 Lin Shidong won both of his matches 3-0 as he easily moved to… Read More

Increase the Frequency During the Drill!?

September 12, 2025
3 points Forehand topspin – robot plays one topspin to Forehand, middle, Backhand, middle, Forehand, middle, Backhand and… Read More

Handling Pressure in Big Moments: Lessons from Truls Moregard’s Grand Smash Victory

September 12, 2025
(by Dr. Alan Chu, Ph.D., CMPC) Champion mindsets aren’t born—they’re built, one focused breath and pressure point at… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.