Dubbed the “Egyptian Angel” by the international press, Hana Goda is a demon on the table. On September 25 the 11-year-old was crowned national champion, winning the Under 12 singles title at the 2019 Egyptian National Championships. While that would have been plenty to celebrate, she did not stop there, going on to win the Under 15, Under 18 and Senior championships as well. In the women's singles championships, Goda beat top seed Farah Abdel-Aziz (11-7, 11-6, 13-11). By pulling off the stunning upset, Goda became Egypt's youngest-ever champion. “I am very happy winning the title and this is just the start of my dream of becoming the first Egyptian to win an Olympic medal in table tennis," said Goda, who turns 12 in December. "I am just working hard towards my dream." The young titlist is now letting it be known there is a new queen on the scene. Her first order of business is calling out would-be challengers to the throne. The first head to roll will be that of Egyptian FIFA superstar Mohamed Salah. The star winger for Liverpool F.C. recently posted pictures of himself playing table tennis on social media, which caught Goda's attention. "The Champion's Challenge: Salah, you cannot win every game," tweeted Goda to her compatriot. "I challenge you in a table tennis game, the golden hands versus the golden legs." Salah initially responds with paternalistic condescension, teasing, "Should I send you Mecca, my daughter, first or come along myself?" Then, realizing he cannot duck Goda's public call to arms, he accepts his fate, replying, "Okay, I accept the challenge!" As Salah is soon to learn, he had better keep his day job playing football with his "golden legs" rather than trying to compete for a spot on the Egyptian national table tennis team. One more competitive realm for the two Egyptian stars is social media. Salah currently holds the record for Instagram followers among Egyptians with over 30 million. With Goda's Gen-Z technological fluency, Salah's record may soon be in danger. This friendly rivalry serves to elevate both stars' profiles, in turn lifting all boats that ride the Egyptian tide. Just don't forget who rules the land with a golden hand.

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