It is a situation that to the best of my knowledge has never previously happened on the ITTF World Junior Circuit; moreover, it is the third week of competition in less than a month for the young lady from Cairo.

She was a member of Team Africa at the eight day ITTF World Cadet Challenge which concluded in the Polish town of Wladyslawowo on Thursday 31st October, before last week being on duty at the 2019 Hungarian Junior and Cadet Open in Szombathely.

A busy schedule, one to which Hana Goda has responded; in Wladyslawowo she was a girls’ singles bronze medallist, in Szombathely she was a quarter-finalist. Creditable performances but the fact to note is that on both occasions she lost to most worthy adversaries, she lost to the eventual winners; in Wladyslawowo to Japan’s Kaho Akae, in Szombathely to China’s Leng Yutong.

Likewise, on this year’s ITTF World Junior Circuit, Hana Goda has enjoyed success; in Bahrain she was a junior girls’ singles semi-finalist, as well as on home soil in Sharm El-Sheikh where she also won the cadet girls’ singles title. Additionally at the African Junior and Cadet Championships in Accra she was secured the top step of the cadet girls’ singles podium.

Leading names

In Guimarães, in the junior girls’ singles event, she is listed ahead of Hungary’s Dari Helga, Tunisia’s Fadwa Garci and Emine Ernst of the Netherlands. In the cadet girls’ singles, the players next in line are Farida Badawy followed by Italy’s Nicole Arlia and Spain’s Yanira Sanchez.

The nearest rivals, all are players who cannot compare with the success enjoyed this year by Hana Goda.

Fadwa Garcia reached the quarter-final stage of the junior girls’ singles event in Accra; also in Accra and in Sharm El-Sheikh, Farida Badawy was beaten in the cadet girls’ singles final by Hana Goda. Silver for Farida Badawy, it was the same colour for Nicole Arlia in Slovenia; she attracted the attention, reaching the cadet girls’ singles final where Poland’s Anna Brzyska ended aspirations.

Success on ITTF World Junior Circuit

Meanwhile in the junior boys’ singles, the name at the top of the list is that of Croatia’s Ivor Ban, he is listed ahead of Chile’s Nicolas Burgos, Italy’s John Oyebode and Moldova’s Vladislav Ursu.

All are players who have enjoyed success on this year’s ITTF World Junior Circuit. Ivor Ban was the runner up in the Czech Republic and Slovenia; Nicolas Burgos emerged the silver medallist on home turf in Santiago, the city in which he also won the junior boys’ singles title at the South American Junior and Cadet Championships. Similarly, John Oyebode was a semi-finalist in Poland, Vladislav Ursu won in Spain.

Prominent names they are also prominent names in the junior boys’ doubles; both partnering colleagues; Ivor Ban occupies the top spot alongside Lovro Zovko, Nicolas Burgos reserves the second seeded position in allegiance with Jorge Paredes.

Similar situation

Notable performances on this year’s ITTF World Junior Circuit, for the leading names in the cadet boys’ singles event it is very much the same.

Peru’s Carlos Fernandez, the top seed, was the cadet boys’ singles runner up in Chile; next in line Puerto Rico’s Angel Naranjo reached the penultimate round in Thailand, in addition to striking gold in Medellin a the Latin American Junior and Cadet Championships.

Similarly, Romania’s Andrei Teodor Istrate, the no.3 seed, won in Slovenia, whilst in Macedonia and Serbia he was the runner up. Not to be overshadowed, Spain’s Daniel Berzosa reached the penultimate round in Croatia, before more recently in October being a member of the Hopes team at the ITTF World Cadet Challenge.

Top seed in the cadet boys’ singles, Carlos Fernandez occupies the same position in the cadet boys’ doubles; he partners Belgium’s Tom Closset; Andrei Teodor Istrate and Romanian teammate Horia Stefan Ursut reserve the no.2 seeded spot.

Play commences with the junior boys’ singles, junior girls’ singles, junior boys’ doubles and junior girls’ doubles events.