Hana Goda
Egypt
Egypt
Hana Goda is tipped to be the greatest table tennis player in Africa. The Egyptian rising star was born on 12 December 2007 in Cairo. In 2022, she became the youngest Egyptian UNICEF ambassador.
Goda won a silver medal in the women’s singles after Mariam Alhodaby defeated her in the final at the 2021 African Championships. During the same tournament, she won a gold medal in the team event. In 2022, she was the champion of the 2022 ITTF Africa Cup after beating Fatimo Bello of Nigeria 4-0 in the women’s singles.
Hana plays for Al Ahly sporting club and she favors the shakehand grip.
Here is a profile of her rise to fame; we have included Hana Goda ranking, equipment, playing technique and numerous achievements.
Quick Facts
Biography
Goda became an athlete at a young age. She was 4 years old when she started practicing swimming, gymnastics and handball before focusing on table tennis a year later. To nurture her career, her parents, who are orthopedic doctors, registered her at Al-Ahly Sports Club. This the same club she currently represents, and sponsored her private training and trips abroad. Her mother even resigned from her job to focus on her daughter’s career.
Since Goda was short, her coaches shortened the legs of her tennis table to accommodate her.
Goda loves reading and tends to do her homework after her 4-hour daily training. When not attending tournaments and training camps, she enjoys catching up with friends and playing with her sister.
Goda was only six years old when she competed nationally in 2014, and a year later, she visited China for the first time to attend training camps.
Her role model is Dina Meshref who has won the African championships more that five times and whom she defeated 4-2 in the women’s singles at the 2021 African ITTF Championship. She also admires Ding Ning and her coach, Zhang Shao Lin.
Career
Her first appearance on the international stage was at the 2015 Swedish Junior and Cadet Open. In 2016, Goda competed at the same tournament and also at the 2016 Egypt Junior and Cadet Open in the U12 group where she advanced to the quarterfinal. She won the Hopes Girls’ singles title after defeating Kessaci Amina of Algeria 3-0 and won a silver medal in the Cadet Girls singles after losing 2-3 to Garci Fadwa of Tunisia at the 2016 Algeria Junior and Cadet Open.
Hana Goda was eliminated in the round of 16 matches of Mini-Cadet Girls Singles at the 2017 Swedish Junior and Cadet Open after Vasilisa Danilova of Russia beat her 11-9, 11-6, 11-4. Goda won the Mini-Cadet Girls Singles title at the 2017 Egypt Junior and Cadet Open after defeating compatriot Saad Jana 3-1. She advanced to the semifinal of the Mini-Cadet Girls Singles at the 2017 Tunisia Junior and Cadet Open.
Goda became the champion of the 2018 Tunisia Junior and Cadet Open and won a silver medal in the Mini Cadet Girls' Singles at the 2018 Swedish Junior and Cadet Open and the 2018 Oman Junior and Cadet Open.
She won gold in singles and team events for U12 at the 2019 Bahrain Junior and Cadet Open and bronze in Mini Cadet Girls' Singles at the 2019 Swedish Junior and Cadet Open. She also reached the quarterfinal of the Cadet Girls’ singles at the latter tournament.
Despite Hana Goda’s age, she made a mark in her debut at the 2019 African Junior and Cadet Championships by winning 4-1 in the Cadet Girls' Singles and 3-0 in the Cadet Girls' Teams. She won the Hopes Girls' Singles and reached the quarterfinal of the Cadet Girls' Singles at the 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit Golden Thailand Junior and Cadet Open. Just like Goda, many competitive players start training at an early age. Although some equipment may cost a fortune, that should not deter you because our team has rounded up the best ping pong robots that you can easily get at reasonable prices.
Hana Goda was the winner in the Cadet Girls’ singles at the 2019 African Junior and Cadet Championships in Ghana and the 2019 Egypt Junior and Cadet Open. She also won in the Cadet Girls’ doubles with Melissa Belache of Algeria at the 2019 Egypt Junior and Cadet Open
The same year, she was a semifinalist in the Junior Girls’ singles at the 2019 ITTF Junior Circuit Premium Bahrain Junior and Cadet Open and a bronze medalist in the Cadet Girls’ singles at the 2019 ITTF World Cadet Challenge in Poland.
At the 2019 ITTF Portugal Junior and Cadet Open, she became the champion in the cadet girls’ singles and the junior girls’ singles.
Goda was part of the team that was to compete at the 2020 World Team Championships but the event was cancelled because of the coronavirus epidemic.
In 2021, Goda beat Anna Hursey 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 and won the Girls’ singles in the U15 category at the WTT Youth Star Contender Otočec and became the first African player to lift the trophy. It was a sweet victory for Goda who had finished second at the WTT Youth Star Contender Tunis-2021 after losing to Anna.
Hana Goda was a substitute at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and a winner with her national team at the 2021 African Senior Championship in Cameroon where she also won a silver medal in the women’s singles. She won a gold and silver medal at the 2021 WTT Youth Star contender events in Lisbon and Wladyslawowo respectively.
Hana Goda won gold in the women’s doubles and silver in the singles at the 2021 Youth World Championships. She was the 2020 and 2021 winner in the women’s singles after lifting the trophy at the Egyptian National Championships.
She won gold in the women’s singles among juniors and cadets at the 2022 WTT Youth Star Contender Otočec and at the 2022 ITTF Africa Cup tournament. Goda was impressive at the 2022 African Youth Championships where she was the champion in the junior singles, mixed doubles, women’s doubles and cadet teams.
She was part of the team that won the 2022 Mediterranean Games.
Olympic history
Goda was a substitute for her national team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Achievements
Hana Goda proves that age is just a number and her speed, focus and poise are a joy to watch.
She was a gold medalist at the 2016 Algerian International Championship, 2018 African Table Tennis Championship, 2018 Tunisian Championship, 2021 African Championships, 2021 World Junior Championships, 2022 ITTF Africa Cup, 2021 WTT Youth Star Contender, and 2022 Mediterranean Games.
She was also the African Junior and Cadet Championships champion in 2019 and 2022.
Playing Style
Goda is a right-handed attacker who uses the shakehand grip to launch and block attacks by opponents.
Ranking
Hana Goda ranking by ITTF was the highest in May 2022 when she was placed 33rd in the world. As of May 2023, her ranking was 36.
Social Media
Hana Goda Equipment
Videos
Final Thoughts
Competitive table tennis is demanding, especially if you are also juggling studies. Fortunately, Hana Goda had supportive parents and her mother, Radwa Azab, left her lucrative job to help her daughter fulfill her dream. Age has not deterred Hana Goda as the 15-year-old has a career decorated with historic wins. She is the reigning Africa cadet champion, the youngest Egyptian to win a national competition and the youngest African to win the ITTF Africa Cup. Her major feat in Lagos can be compared to Kasumi Ishikawa’s who won the Asian Cup tournament when she was also 14 years old.