Nigerian table tennis star Olufunke Oshonaike’s current African championship women’s singles table tennis title is under threat as Egypt’s Diana Meshref has expressed hopes of dethroning Oshonaike to become the next women’s singles champion.
Meshref who lost 4-2(7-11, 11-13,11-19,7-11,7-11) to Oshonaike in finals of the 2016 edition in Agadir, Morocco is looking to bounce back from that defeat and clinch the women’s singles title amongst others this year.
She said, ”I am not the defending champion as I lost in the final in the last African championship in Morocco in 2016, but I hope I can win the title this time. I think it’s going to be quite competitive; there are many good players in Africa. I am still preparing at the moment, so I still can not say I am ready now, but hopefully, I will be ready by the time the competition approaches. I can win the teams’ doubles, mixed doubles and singles’ titles. She also expressed hope in the Egyptian team and its ability to win titles in the competition.
The 2018 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) African Championship is slated to take place from the 3rd to 9th of September in Mauritius.