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An Egyptian Paralympian is leaving the world in awe with his unorthodox playing style.
Ibrahim Hamadtou plays table tennis with the bat in his mouth.
But his skill is not new.
His table tennis techniques have been on display since 2014.
The 48-year-old holds the bat with his mouth and uses his right foot to serve.
Hence, he plays without wearing a shoe on his right foot.
Train accident when he was 10
The Olympics' YouTube channel shared the Egyptian athelete's story in a video.
Originating from the village of Kafr Saad El-Balad, Ibrahim would commute via train to and from Damietta, Egypt where he was working as a carpenter.
On one of the train journeys, he had fallen through the gap between the train and the pavement.
He woke up from a coma to find that his arms were amputated.
Ibrahim was only 10 years old then.
Upon his discharge from the hospital, he did not leave his house for a year unless it was very late at night in order to avoid the looks of pity and sympathy.
Ibrahim admitted that the first year was difficult for him.
Journey with table tennis
A friend had told him to stick to something he could do, which ignited his will and determination to show that he could practise a sport, without realising he would become a world table tennis champion.
Ibrahim told the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF):
"I was in the club where I was officiating a match between two of my friends. They disagreed on a point, when I counted the point in favour of one of them the other player told me, do not interfere as you will never be able to play. It was that statement that fired me up to decide to play table tennis.”
After the accident, Ibrahim started playing football and frequently got injured due to his loss of balance.
He told CNN in an interview in 2014 that it was logical for him to play football first due to his case before playing table tennis "as a challenge".
Screenshot via The Olympics' YouTube channel.
His interest in table tennis started upon his visit to the local youth centre where he learnt the sport.
Initially, he tried to hold the bat under his armpits but failed and eventually decided to try using his mouth by placing the handle between his teeth.
He reported to the youth centre at 7am the next day, commencing his journey with table tennis in 1986 before playing at an international level in 2015.
"It was quite difficult playing table tennis after the accident," Ibrahim told CNN. "I had to practice hard for three consecutive years on a daily basis."
He had received a personal invitation to play an exhibition match with world champions at the ZEN-NOH 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Japan. The video later went viral, catapulting him to international fame.
He has won silver medals in the African Para Table Tennis Championships in 2011 and 2013 and the Egypt Open in 2013.
He proceeded to make his debut at age 43 at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. He finished 11th in the Class 6 singles and ninth in the team event.
Ibrahim at Rio 2016. Screenshot via The Olympics' YouTube channel.
Ibrahim at the Para Egypt Open in 2019. Screenshot via The Olympics' YouTube channel.
Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
On August 25, the Egyptian representative was defeated 0-3 in a Men's Singles - Class 6 Group E match with the Republic of Korea's Park Hong Kyu at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Ibrahim will go head to head with Chen Chao from the People's Republic of China on August 27.
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Top images via Paralympic.org & The Olympics' YouTube channel.