Paralympian with no arms plays Ping Pong with his mouth

The Olympics offered up some truly inspirational moments—and some rather embarrassing ones, too. 

But for every drunken Ryan Lochte fairy tale or safety oversight or shameful officiating decision, there was someone overcoming incredible odds, tying the knot, or doing the unthinkable.

 But no Olympian is even half as inspiring as Paralympian Ibrahim Hamato of Egypt.

 At the age of 10, Hamato lost both his arms in a train accident.

 Now 41, he’s a nationally ranked Para table tennis player competing in the Rio Paralympics; he uses his mouth to hold his paddle and his foot to toss the ball in the air for his serve.

 “It was quite difficult playing table tennis after the accident,” Hamato told CNN. “I had to practice hard for three consecutive years on a daily basis.

 At the beginning, people were amazed and surprised seeing me playing. They encouraged and supported me a lot and they were very proud of my willing, perseverance and determination.” 

Hamato, who won silver medals in his class at the Egypt Open and African Championships in 2013, said he chose table tennis to challenge himself.

 “In our village, we could only play, at that time, table tennis and soccer—that’s why I played both,” said Hamato, who’s from Kafr Saad in northeastern Egypt. “It was logic to play soccer first due to my case; then I played table tennis as a challenge.”