Hana Goda begins her WTT Contender in Lagos with a victory over Indian Sreeja Akula.
Two time African women's table tennis champion, Hana Goda has revealed that Lagos is a special place for her
Goda begins her World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender in Lagos with a victory over Indian Sreeja Akula in the first round of the women's singles at the Molade Okoya indoor hall.
'Lagos is a special place for me'
The 15-year-old won her first African title in Lagos in 2022 after defeating fatimo Bello in the final.
She said that her game against Akula was very challenging that she had played against her several times.
According to her, "I just won my first match and I am very satisfied with my game today. I was a little bit nervous, not very nervous but I was playing really fast and I wanted to slow down a little bit. It was a 3-0 match and although it may look easy from outside, it was quite challenging because I have played against her (Akula) a lot of times and she is a very strong opponent for me. So I am very happy that I can win this match and I am excited for the next match.
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"I love Lagos here because I also won the WTT African Championship last year, so it’s a really special place for me. Hopefully, I can go on and do better. I really like it here. It’s quite hot here but I am used to it. It’s okay. I am very happy and very satisfied," she said.
I will take every game as it comes - Goda
On her target in Lagos, the youngstar said she takes every game as it comes.
She said, "My goal in this tournament is just to play every single point the maximum that I can, to play every single point the best because I don’t want to stress myself too much and think about ‘if I win this match, if I lose this match’. I just want to play freely.
"I am trying it out because usually, I always have high expectations of myself and I really don’t want to put pressure on myself. So this time, I am really hoping to just go with the flow, play good every single point, and have a good win every single point. And if I win every single point, I will win every single match (laughter)."
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The Egyptian defeated Akula 3-0 to set a date with Korean Kim Nayeong in round of 16.
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