By Victor Kanayo
Hana Goda and Omar Assar emerged as the new champions of Africa at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, held in Tunis, Tunisia.
The young Goda dethroned fellow Egyptian Dina Meshref 4-2 to clinch the Women’s Singles title, while her compatriot Assar narrowly edged Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna 4-3 in a battle of African table tennis superstars in the Men’s Singles final.
Over three days, 50 players from Algeria, Benin Republic, Cameroon, DR Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Egypt, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia competed in the tournament, which also served as a qualifier for the 2025 ITTF World Cup.
In the Women’s Singles final, Goda staged a comeback victory over Meshref. After falling behind 2-0, she rallied to win 4-2 and claim her title. Meshref initially dominated with scores of 11-9 and 11-5, but Goda regained her composure, winning the next four games 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, and 12-10.
In the Men’s Singles final, Assar had to dig deep to overcome defending champion Aruna in a close 4-3 match (11-3, 14-16, 11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6).
After the match, Assar described his victory as the toughest of his career, saying, “This is the toughest tournament, and I am so exhausted from all the matches I played in Tunis. I thank my teammates and our host, Tunisia, for being a good host.”
