After she was initially left out of the national tennis table team travelling to Tokyo, the Egyptian Tennis Table Federation called up Hana Goda as a reserve player in the women's team, making her Egypt’s youngest Olympian.
Born on 12 December 2007, Goda will participate at Tokyo at the age of 13 years and 224 days, beating the previous record of swimmer Rania Elwani who competed in Barcelona 1992 at the age of 14 years and 286 days.
The Ahly junior talent rose to the limelight in 2020 after defeating arch-rival Zamalek’s contender 27-year-old Farah Abdel-Aziz, who was second in the African ranking, to claim the Egyptian senior title, in addition to gaining four gold medals in the African competition.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has praised Goda, saying she had made history in the sport after winning several titles including the U-15 and U-18 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit Portugal Junior and Cadet Open, and topped her age ranking.
“In order to achieve my dreams, I undergo six hour training daily, under the supervision of a foreign coach and other Egyptian coaches, as well as special exercises for fitness. There is great cooperation between everyone to continue clinching titles,” Goda told ITTF.
“I hope to maintain my progress in the world rankings, and to complete my career in the best possible way. I have limitless ambitions as long as I play my beloved sport,” the 13-year-old champion concluded.
If she has the chance to participate in the Olympics, the promising talent will be expected to show great performance and maybe even win.