Inspirational sportsmanship丨Bite the racket and serve with his feet. He is the only Paralympic athlete who uses his mouth to play table tennis.Fly into the homes of ordinary people
Biting the handle of the ping-pong racket with his mouth, he threw the ball up to serve with his right toe, and then twisted his neck to return the ball. Egyptian armless table tennis player Hamato was in the Tokyo Paralympic Table Tennis TT6 group stage this morning. Although he lost 0 to 3 against Chinese player Chen Chao, Hamato has become a paralympic athlete and a breakthrough. Inspirational athlete representative of self-limitation.
Caption: Hamato’s network map during the game
Illustrated:Use your right toe to throw the ball up and serve the network diagram
Lost his arms in a train accident
Hamato was born on July 1, 1973 in Dumiyat, northern Egypt. When he was 10 years old, he lost his arms in a train accident. At that time, he unfortunately fell into the gap between the train and the platform and his arms were amputated. He did not perish because of the catastrophe. He loved sports. At that time, his hometown was mainly engaged in football and table tennis. Hamato plays both football and table tennis. For him, who has lost his arms, playing football is relatively easy, but playing table tennis is a great challenge. Hamato was determined to practice table tennis hard because he was ridiculed by his childhood playmates. Hamato recalled: “When I was 13 years old, I was a referee for two friends who played table tennis. Agree with my decision of 1 point, feel that I am partial to the other side, and laugh at how I can be a good referee if I can never play ping-pong. It is this sentence that completely aroused my fighting spirit and determined to play ping-pong well.”
Illustrated:Hamato uses his mouth to bite a ping pong racket to play ping pong IC picture
Since then, Hamato began to practice table tennis hard. Because of the loss of his arms, he initially tried to play with a racket under his arm, but the effect was not satisfactory. Later, he chose to bite the racket to play table tennis, which made him feel more flexible in action. It took him nearly a year to practice before he was used to biting the racket to serve and return the ball. Practice more, fight more, and the technique is getting better and better. Hamato said: “I need to continue to strengthen my leg strength when I bite the racket with my mouth, because I rely on my legs more than any other player. My neck strength also needs to be continuously strengthened, and my teeth are the same. , The racket cannot move between my teeth, otherwise the shot will be very unstable.”
Illustrated:
Photo of Hamato in the game Xinhua News Agency
Step on the field is victory
With perseverance and countless days and nights of training, his level has improved day by day. In 2004, he made his sports career debut in Cairo with a bite of a racket. After that, he began to emerge in handicapped table tennis competitions. In 2011 and 2013, he won the runner-up of two African Handicapped Table Tennis Championships. In 2013, he was named the best athlete in Africa, which is an extremely high honor for him.
In the 2016 African Handicapped Championship, Hamato finished runner-up again and won the qualification for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. In Rio he finished 9th in the team competition and 11th in the TT6 individual competition. For Hamato, being able to enter the Paralympic Games is victory. His unique style of playing has become a star athlete in the Rio Paralympics. Some netizens said: “The moment he served the ball, he already won the respect of everyone.” “Seeing such an inspirational story, I have no reason not to work hard.”
Illustrated:Network map of Hamato at the Rio Paralympic Games
Hamato also came to China and practiced with Guoping. Guoping team captains Ma Long and Wang Hao have been friendly coaches for him. When Malone was interviewed, he couldn’t help but praise Hamato: “He played very well, I couldn’t believe it!”
In life, Hamato has a son and two daughters. His idol is Portuguese football star Ronaldo. Hamato, now 48, is standing on the stage of the Tokyo Paralympic Games again. For him, table tennis and sports have brought him infinite power. His goal is to win a Paralympic medal and at the same time inspire more people who have encountered setbacks in life with his story. He said: “I am very happy that I can become famous online. This helps many people get rid of their isolation and brings hope to the disabled. I want to tell all disabled athletes that nothing is impossible in life.” “Never “Give up” is exactly the motto that Hamato believes in. (Xinmin Evening News reporter(Reporter Huang Yongshun)
Editor: Shen Yuye
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