"He who wishes that his sustenance be increased for him and his death day be delayed, then he should pay attention to his kinsfolk," said the prophet Muhammad in the Quran. Egypt's Hana Goda is paying attention to her kinfolk. It seems as this runs in the family. At 12, Goda. is ranked #1 in table tennis among all cadet girls (under 15) in the world. She has been playing since the age of four, when local coaches cut the legs off of a table so she could see across. Since then, Goda has never been far from the watchful eye of her mother, Radwa Azab, a clinical pathologist who retired in order to help give her promising daughter every chance to succeed. The plan is Last year, Goda became Egypt's youngest-ever national champion, besting Farah Abdel Aziz, a 27-year-old ranked fourth in Egypt, in straight sets in the final. The win earned Goda a spot on national team. Hana is plenty busy training to represent her nation in international play, as well as to defend her national championship. This does not mean, however, that she is not also thinking long-term. To the contrary, Goda sees herself as leading a renaissance for both her country and her continent in global table tennis. "I hope that I can [be the future of African table tennis]," says Goda. "I really want to put Egypt and Africa’s name high on the table tennis map." She is enlisting help in her efforts, but she may have to answer to charges of nepotism. Her sister Hamss Goda, 6 years old, is already showing promise. "Before me, no one played table tennis in my family," says Hana. "My sister is now playing and she’s very good. My sister is getting better because I train with her sometimes. I want her to be as good as me so that we can play in the World Championships final or doubles at the Olympics." As an added bonus, Hamss is left-handed. Paired with right-handed Hana, the Goda sisters could dominate women's doubles for decades. The Goda girls will surely be paying grateful attention to their travel agent, cheerleader and mother, Radwa Azab, who sacrificed so much in order to pay attention to them. By such means, their sustenance shall be increased.

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