The 13-year-old Egyptian beat Nigeria’s Olufunke Oshonaike to book her place in the quarter-final stage of the women’s singles event.
A quite sensational performance, Hana Goda was very much the focus of attention in the third round of the women’s singles event at the 2021 ITTF African Championships in Yaoundé in Monday.
In the game played within an hour, Hana Goda succeeded in style beating Oshonaike 11-3, 11-4, 11-6, 12-10.
Hana Goda speaking after the match said: “I was so scared when I got to know that I will be playing against one of the best players, but I was confident going into the match.
“When I started, I tried to play very well because my opponent is an experienced player. When the fourth game was at 9-9, I was scared thinking that if I lose the match, it might be difficult for me but then I was also so focused and in the end I won.
“I hope I can continue to move on in the tournament, with the aim of winning something here. I must admit that it is not going to be easy at all,” she added.
Meanwhile, Funke Oshinaike believes Hana Goda is the future hope of the game for Africa.
Oshinaike while in an interview after the match said: “I am so proud of her because I have not seen a player with such unique spin.
“From the way she plays, you could see a lot of hunger in her and passion for the sport. For me, she is the next big thing in Africa.
“I think Nigeria should take a cue from what Egypt has done with Hana because she started early with good coaching. So, we must start early with our players and combine that with quality coaching,” added Olufunke Oshonaike.
