"You live for the fight when it's all that you've got," observed Jon Bon Jovi, the New Jersey rocker whose roots trace back to Italy. Now, a veteran Italian player is embodying this fighting spirit on the global stage. Mihai Bobocica (pictured) was born in Romania 34 years ago. Since moving to Italy, he has won a half-dozen national table tennis championships. Bobocica also represented his adoptive homeland at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Since peaking at world #55 six years ago, Bobocica has gradually ebbed but remains a threat. He is currently listed at world #125, a close second in Italy behind Niagol Stoyanov at #102. On Sunday, Bobocica and 90 other players commenced play in the men's qualifying rounds of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Middle East Hub in Doha, Qatar. As in the women's competition, the winners of eight single-elimination brackets advance to join 24 seeded players in the main draw, starting tomorrow. Bobocica's qualifying group was headlined by Sweden's Jon Persson (world ranking #43) and Vitor Ishiy of Brazil (WR #59). First up for Bobocica in the round of 16 was a matchup with 27-year-old Daniel Gonzalez, the world #145 from Puerto Rico. Despite a close third game, 15-13, it was the ideal start for Bobocica, who prevailed in straight sets, 3-0. Then, in the elite eight, things started to get interesting. Bobocica struggled out of the gate against WR #76 Marcos Madrid of Mexico, also 34 years of age. After Madrid pulled ahead, two games to one, the fourth and potentially final game went to deuce. Of the two veterans, it was Bobocica who found the winning combination, stealing the momentum and the match, 3-2. For his heroics, Bobocica earned a semifinal matchup with the group's top seed, Jon Persson of Sweden, yet another 34-year-old. The two thirtysomethings seemed content to trade games indefinitely, which ultimately forced a tiebreaker. Again, it was Bobocica who came up with the lucky roll, 11-7 in the decider. Already exceeding expectations, Bobocica was playing with house money when he reached the final against Vitor Ishiy of Brazil. Ishiy, a mere lad of 25, was the group's second seed and had thus far avoided any upsets. The two traded deuce games before Ishiy pulled ahead in the pivotal third game with a dominant 11-3 win. Down but not out, Bobocica rallied to square the match with a comparably crushing 11-5 fourth game. For his third straight match, Bobocica faced a win-or-go-home fifth game. Just like before, Bobocica wanted it more, advancing with a (12-10, 10-12, 3-11, 11-5, 11-4) score. Tomorrow, Mihai Bobocica begins play in the main draw. His first-round matchup is Jon Persson's Swedish teammate and 2019 World Championship men's singles finalist Mattias Falck, a 29-year-old ranked a daunting #8 in the world. Of course, after Bobocica's stunning series of clutch wins over higher-ranked players, perhaps it is the favored Falck who will find himself living on a prayer.

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