Paddle Palace and Nittaku were Partners and Sponsors of the 2018 C4NC NY Table Tennis Open held in Little Neck, NY on October 20th.
From the Love of a Game to the Love of the Forgotten
“Hamadtou Inspires The Crowd and Lashin Wins the Open Tournament”
As Misr Al-Mahaba Hospital (MMH) in Bani Mazar, El-Minya opened the doors of its outpatient clinic to its first patients this past month, C4NC held its first-ever Table Tennis Tournament at Samuel Field Y in Little Neck, NY to benefit the hospital. The tournament sponsored by Paddle Palace, Sameh Awadalla Table Tennis Academy, Donic and Newgy Robo-Pong.
The much-anticipated event was attended by international stars from Egypt, including El-Sayed Lashin, Sameh Awadalla, Mahmoud Zaghloul and players of many other nationalities, who came together to raise funds for the hospital while having fun playing. The rising US stars Sharon and Adar Alguetti also participated in the event and delivered amazing performance.
However, the most inspirational player drawing the largest crowd was undoubtedly Ibrahim Hamadtou, the Egyptian-born table tennis sensation who plays using his mouth to hold the racket and his bare foot to serve the ball. Ibrahim tragically lost both of his arms in a train accident when he was a child, but he did not let that prevent him from pursuing his love for table tennis. He is now world-famous player for his unique playing style and incredible story of resilience. Ibrahim’s message to anyone who dares to dream beyond their means is always the same: “Nothing is impossible.” His life motto and advice also holds a special place in the heart of C4NC family as we treat our first patients at Misr Al-Mahaba Hospital—when no one ever thought building such a facility was possible.
Sameh Awadalla the international star and founder of (SATTA) satabletenniscademy.com in Long Island NY said that the tournament was not just one the best events that organized in New York but also was unique in showing the love of the game and our brothers and sisters who cannot afford to pay for their basic medical needs in upper Egypt.
The tournament featured a number of categories for players of various skill levels, with trophies and prizes available for those finishing at the top of their groups. Also the spectators had the chance to attend a presentation about the hospital, organized by C4NC advisory board members. Players and spectators were treated to an array of Egyptian food supplied by volunteers.
Tournaments Winners:
• Open event:
El-Sayed Lashin First, Sharon Alguetti Second
Adar Alguetti & Mahmoud Zaghloul Third.
• Under 2100:
Mukaila Rabiu First and Marco Mizrahi Second
• Under 1800:
Marco Makkar Frist and Omid Rofeim Second
• Under 1600:
Jaideep Grewal First and Ashraf Naguib Second
• Under 1200:
Nicholas Kui First and Thomas Morra Second
• Under 1000:
Ming Lu First and Botond Acosta Second
• Handicap:
Sameh Awadalla First and El-Sayed Lashin Second
