An Egyptian table tennis player has been making waves after ranking number 1 in the International Table Tennis Federation’s Cadet Under 15 girls’, the first African player to have done so, according to the ITTF.
Twelve-year-old Hana Goda may not be the youngest player to compete professionally, but her performance in various local, regional and global competitions has seen her rise through the ranks and she is now well on her way to achieving her Olympic dreams.
She played a winning match last year in the Egyptian National Championships against 27-year-old Zamalek club player Farah Abdelaziz who is also ranked among the top 5 senior table tennis players in Africa.
“I enjoy playing with older players because I love it when the match is hard. I like playing with the experts but also the easier ones,” she said as she swiftly hit the ball back and forth during her practice in Cairo.
Goda was just 4 years old when she started playing for the Egyptian al-Ahly club, and now almost seven years later, she has earned herself global recognition.
Most recently she’s participated in the 2020 – ITTF Junior Circuit, Swedish Junior & Cadet Open, winning two of the four matches played, and last year in the World Cadet Challenge – ITTF World Cadet Challenge, winning 11 out of a total of 15 matches against players from Asia, Latin America and Europe, among others, according to the ITTF website.
The ITTF has described her as a “12-year-old, setting unprecedented standards for the continent of Africa.”
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