11 Jul 2017

Listed at no.38 on the current Men’s World Rankings, for the past two years Egypt’s Omar Assar has represented Istres in the French League; now, the 25 year old has signed a two year deal with SV Werder Bremen n the German Bundesliga.

He is expected to team with German international, Bastian Steger and Romania’s Hunor Szöcs in the club’s green colours.

by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF Africa Press Officer

The deal was signed in March 2017; Sacha Greber, the Team Manager of SV Werder Bremer, was most excited about the choice of Omar Assar.

“Omar Assar was our wish for the next two years and we are very happy that it worked out. He will move to Bremen and become part of our training group. We think he has the potential to become a crowd favourite.” Sacha Greber.

Likewise, Cristian Tamas, the coach is also looking forward to the new addition.

“Omar Assar is a top player with a very strong backhand. We expect that we will have a lot of fun watching him; his playing style is very spectacular. Omar Assar is very goal-oriented, training minded and intelligent; I am already looking forward to working with him. Praise goes to Sascha Greber, many other clubs have shown an interest in Omar Assar.” Cristian Tamas

Equally, Omar Assar is delighted with the move.

“I chose the Bundesliga because it is one of my dreams. Since I started playing table tennis, I have not seen any Egyptian or Arab players playing in the Bundesliga. I do not only want to play in the Bundesliga, I want to be one of the best players in the Bundesliga.” Omar Assar

Furthermore, Omar Assar is very much an admirer of Werder Bremen and is well aware of the club’s exploits.

“Werder Bremen is a very well-known and much respected club. I have known the club for a long time and have followed the career of Werder in recent years. I have always liked the strategy of the club and also the many great players like Chuang Chih-Yuan and Adrian Crisan, who played for Werder. Of course, I also followed the win in the 2013 German Championships; a great achievement and for me an inspiration to switch to this club.” Omar Assar

Always full of energy, Omar Assar is highly motivated and relishes the challenge.

“I will come to Bremen with a very high level of motivation. Playing in a club that has already been German champion in the past is an incentive for me to deliver similar strong performances. I will be very happy if I can play at this level. I will invest a lot of commitment in the daily training work with the training group in Bremen. I am determined to deliver top performances in every match. I am convinced that hard training work and a 100 per cent effort will pay off.” Omar Assar

Immediate goals and for Omar Assar there are also long term goals.

“My personal goal is to win a medal for Egypt and for myself at a World title event such as the World Championships or the Olympic Games.” Omar Assar

The experience of playing in the powerful German Bundesliga may well help him achieve that goal.

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