Dina Meshref is the only known name in the 14-man Egyptian team and she is ready to lead the North Africans to medal hauls at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour, Lagos Open.
With the absence of defending champion, Egypt’s Nadeen El-Dawlatly, the 20-year-old believes Nigerians players are beatable in front of their fans in Lagos.
El-Dawlatly defeated Meshref in the final of the championship in 2014 to win her first World Tour title and for this year, she will not be available following her knee injury.
However, Meshref who recently won the ITTF Africa Senior Championship in Cairo told NationSport that they would surely miss the absence of El-Dawlatly but they are capable of upstaging Nigerians.
“Of course Nadeen’s absence will definitely make a difference, as she is very well experienced against the Nigerian opponents. However, I believe that the four other girls accompanying me are capable of beating, Nigerians too,” she boasted.
Being her second visit to Nigeria, Meshref believes the title would not elude her but she admitted that she has to fight over challenge.
“Yes I think I can win the tournament this year, and I really hope so. I expect that the competition will be tough especially from the Nigerian players as well as the Chinese from Portugal are for sure worthy competitors, and playing against them isn’t easy. But I expect that most medals will fortunately be for Egypt,” Meshref said.
The former African Junior champion is also excited with the cheers from the Lagos fans, which she described as awesome.
“In 2014, I remember it was a great experience to play in Lagos ITTF World Tour. It was somehow different than any other experience because the spectators were cheering up so loud and they were very enthusiastic.
I am very excited to participate for the second time. I really hope I could achieve better results than I did last year,” she added.
Despite exhuming some confidence, Meshref is aware that they must be at their best to fend off oppositions from other top players. “Of course there are many good players that can stand between Egyptians and the titles. And for me I am very excited to play again in Lagos and make Nigerians happy by watching good table tennis. I really wish I could perform greatly and make my fans happy,” she explained.
Not forgetting her triumph during the Africa Top 16 Cup, Meshref said she would want to reenact the form. “The most memorable moment for me in Lagos 2014 was when I won the Africa Top 16 Cup to qualify for the 2014.
Women’s World cup. It was such a happy and an unforgettable moment for me and I will be hoping to repeat that form again,” an optimistic Meshref said.
