After beating the duo of Nigeria’s Edem Offiong and Olufunke Oshonaike at the 2021 African Championships in Cameroon, 14-year-old Hana Goda said she is poised to battle the Nigerians at this year’s ITTF Africa Cup holding in Lagos between May 26 to 28.
Goda, who is world number one in U-15 and U17, has been included in the Egyptian six-man team for the continental showpiece having established herself as one of the most talented players to have emerged from Africa and has remained number one in the last 12 months while her performance in several WTT Youth Contender Series has made her a delight to watch on the table.
Goda made headlines she bundled out former African champions Oshonaike and her compatriot – Dina Meshref to become the first teenager to play in the final of the African Championships in Cameroon last year.
“I am so excited to play my first Africa Cup and looking forward to doing my best. I hope to just play freely and enjoy every moment by showing my best in Lagos,” Goda said.
At the U-19 level, Goda is ranked number three while the recent senior ranking released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has shot her to the 42nd spot in the world and the second-best female player in Africa behind Alhodaby.
Meanwhile, top officials from South Africa, Egypt, Burundi, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Lesotho, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Malawi, Eritrea, and host- Nigeria have been confirmed for the ITTF-organised seminar for competition managers as well as training for umpires as part of the programmes lined up for this year’s Africa Cup.
The seminar-cum training will hold between May 22 and 24 with the competition manager while the umpires’ training and examination will hold between May 25 and 28 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
The seminar will be handled by ITTF Competition Services Manager Mohamed El-Dawlatly and it will be jointly organized by ITTF High Performance & Development and ITTF Africa as part of the 2022 Africa Development Program and hosted by the Nigerian Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) in Lagos.
ITTF Vice President, Wahid Oshodi believes the seminar would help to update the knowledge of the officials in terms of management of tournaments within the continent.
