Hana Goda and Omar Assar from Egypt have emerged as the champions of the 2023 ITTF-Africa Cup women’s and men’s singles categories, respectively, with impressive performances at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani indoor gymnasium.
Despite suffering from an inflamed back, Assar defeated Nigerian veteran Quadri Aruna 4-1 in the best-of-seven men’s singles final. Assar praised the Kenyan medical team for helping him recover in time for the match and expressed his sympathy for Aruna.
This win marked Assar’s 10th career ITTF Africa title and his second victory in Nairobi, the first one coming in 2018.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles category, Hana Goda defended her title with a remarkable 4-3 victory over Olympian and multiple winners Dina Meshref.
Hana entered her name in the table tennis history books as the youngest player to defend a senior Africa continental title at the age of 15.
Overwhelmed by her victory, Hana expressed her joy, stating that the win hasn’t sunk in yet.
The 15-year-old teenager, who is ranked fourth in the world among juniors and 39th overall in the ITTF ranking, has taken down some of the most decorated players in Africa, including multiple Nigerian Olympian Funke Oshonaike.
Sarah Hanffou of Cameroon announced her retirement from the sport during the ITTF press conference in Nairobi after losing to Hana in the women’s semifinals. Hanffou plans to shift her focus to her Ping Sans Frontieres project, which uses table tennis as an educational and educational tool worldwide.
