By Nick Butler

Egyptian table tennis player Ibrahim Hamato will receive a special award ©TwitterEgyptian Para-table tennis player Ibrahim Hamato, whose exploits became a global internet sensation earlier this year, will receive a Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award in recognition of his "bravery" and "fortitude".


The athlete, who won a silver medal at the 2013 African Championships for the Disabled, had both limbs amputated after an accident at the age of 10 and plays by flicking the ball up with his feet while carrying the bat in his mouth.

He was nominated by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) for the award, in the category of "Athletic Achieved Success within Major Humanitarian Challenges" category, with his prize to be presented early next year in Dubai to coincide with the International Table Tennis Federation Annual Star Awards Gala and the World Team Cup.

Hamato was also a guest at the 2014 ZEN-HOH 2014 World Team Championships in Tokyo, where he rallied with leading able bodied players including Chinese Olympic champions Ma Long and Wang Hao, Japan's Jun Mizutani and Belarus' Vladimir Samsonov.

He will now be aiming to represent his country at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.



"I am so proud for such an outcome; this prestigious award was a great dream for Ibrahim Hamato during the recent three months since we nominated him," said ATTF President Khaled El-Salhy.

"The major element in this result is the generous invitation by [former ITTF President] Adham Sharara for him to attend the World Championships in Tokyo this year and the fantastic clip that reached more than two million clicks on YouTube.

"I must thank the ITTF for the great team work done through worldwide media promotion to reach the goal; proving that nothing is impossible.

"All such elements have been integrated to build-up an excellent file application for Ibrahim Hamato to win the prestigious award for 2014; all for one and one for all."

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