15 Apr 2019
Doha, 15 April 2019. Abdulrahman Mohsen Naji Al-Naggar, who has died aged 21, joined Aspire Academy in 2010 and was one of Qatar’s most gifted table tennis players. In 2014 he successfully qualified Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, which was an outstanding achievement for the then 16-year-old, who had to beat some of the strongest players in Asia in the regional qualifiers to join the top 32 in China.
The 2015 Qatar National Singles Champion, who he had been a member of Qatar’s Senior National Team since 2012 after winning several gold medals at Junior and Cadet level, was described by former Aspire Academy table tennis head coach Zlatko Novakovic as an “outstanding player, dedicated, committed and ambitious”, with a good chance to represent Qatar at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. His teachers at the Academy praised his likeable character and his good relationships with fellow students and staff. According to them he was a person that people immediately felt comfortable with.
Looking back at his time at Aspire Academy, the 2016 graduate once said: “My advice to my fellow students is to pay attention to their studies and take advantage of their time in Aspire to help them become prominent champions and raise high Qatar's name. I thank my family, all teachers and administrators for their continuous support during the time I spent in this great Academy.” Affectionately known as Abady friends and colleagues, he had a major back surgery in Cologne, Germany in February 2017 and needed months of rehabilitation before he could play again. In April 2018, a few months after returning to table-tennis, Abady led his club Al Saad in winning the 2018 Qatar Table Tennis league.
In an interview with Aspire Academy’s CHAMP Magazine conducted at Aspire in July 2018 Abdulrahman who was studying at Qatar University and pursuing his table-tennis career at the same time, spoke of his new lease of life to be able to enjoy playing sport again after a debilitating back problem that left him unable to walk at one point. Within months he was helping Qatar win medals at the 2018 Arab Championships in Cairo, Egypt. “After my surgery my perspective on life has changed and I am determined to join sports athletes who beat their set-backs and redefined their careers. It all seems like l have been given a second chance at life and l am going to make the most of it.” Abdulrahman Mohsen Naji Al-Naggar will be profoundly missed and Aspire family extends deepest condolences to his family.