An 80-year-old man soundly defeated UNC students and alumni at a Ping-Pong tournament Saturday to raise money for a five-year-old Bangladeshi orphan.
The event, co-hosted by UNC Aasha, an organization devoted to raising awareness of humanitarian causes in Bandgladesh, and Students for Students International, raised $230 for Mohammed Robin Rabbi, who lives in an SOS Children’s Village in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
All proceeds from entry fees to the tournament will go toward the boy’s food, shelter, clothing, health care and education.
Sumaiya Sarwar, president of UNC Aasha, discovered the charity on a family trip to Bangladesh. While looking for cause for the group, she individually interviewed various charities and said she found that SOS was the most reliable.
She was assured all money donated would go straight to Mohammed.
Afshin Humayun, UNC Aasha’s treasurer and the tournament’s organizer, said the tournament was a fun way to support a worthy cause.
“This is a fun way that we can give back to the UNC community,” he said. “The key component is that we’re a humanitarian organization that is trying to make change in Bangladesh and the surrounding area.”
The field of 27 contestants included current and former students and a group of recreational and former professional Ping-Pong players from Chapel Hill’s Seymour Senior Center.
Of the 27 who entered, 80-year-old Walter Shur, who has been playing table tennis for 68 years, emerged the winner after defeating last year’s champion, senior Calvin Young, in the second round.
Young was in good spirits after an intense match with Shur.
“If I lost to anybody, I’d want it to be him,” he said. “I wish it had happened in the final.”
Sherry Graham, 59, won the “upcoming talent” bracket of players defeated in the first round. She is a former Information and Technology Services employee who has lived in Chapel Hill since she came to UNC for her undergraduate degree.
Local businesses, such as Ham’s Restaurant, 35 Chinese and R&R Grill, donated gift certificates as prizes to top performers.
The doubles round of the tournament featured only five teams, two of which wore costumes.
Returning winners Young and 2009 graduate Julie Gras-Najjar dressed up as southern Indian farmers named Satish and Santhosh. They wore white T-shirts, traditional Bangladeshi lungis, headbands and sunglasses. The costume was inspired by separate trips the two took to India.
Between the Ping-Pong, costumes and support of a deserving charity, Maggie Fitch, a member of the UNC Aasha executive board, said the tournament was smart idea for a fundraiser.
“Obviously, it’s a fun thing to do and people like to come out to it,” she said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
