Bronze Medal in Table Tennis

with Elie-Joe Abdel Nour - 2016-03-22

"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts."

- Dan Gable -

Table tennis or ping pong is an Olympic sport since 1988, in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth across a table using a small paddle. Points are scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. The play is fast demanding quick reactions, where spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponent's options, giving the hitter a great advantage. When doing so the hitter has a better chance of scoring if the spin is successful.

Elie-Joe Abdel Nour represented the Universite Antonine last February in this game, winning the 3rd place among all the Lebanese universities in the LAU tournament for Table Tennis. Sixty-four players in total, yet the UA appears to continuously attain the first places, through dedicated and gifted students. 

From an engineering major, Elie-Joe has shown immense passion for this sport, considering it as a hobby; yet he trains with his coach three days per week; in order to improve his skills, especially that he doubles in some competitions with his companion medalist Habib Antoun.

The UA Table Tennis team has already earned its gold medal in the Lebanese Universities League last year, nevertheless those young athletes are unceasingly inspiring other scholars to practice sports and achieve high ranks in competitions. 

Elie-Joe Abdel Nour
Student,  Faculty of Engineering