Teen prodigy Hana Goda on pressure, Olympic dream and fear of failure

In the second episode of the Abtal podcast, host Reem Abulleil is joined by Egyptian table tennis prodigy Hana Goda.

Goda, 16, has been making waves in table tennis internationally since she was 11. She was ranked No 1 in the world in the under-15 cadets category when she was only 12.

Last year, at the senior level, she became the youngest to win the African Championship at the age of 15.

Goda is currently ranked in the world’s top 30 and is Paris-bound with team Egypt for the Olympic Games this summer.
She was recently named the Best Emerging Arab Athlete at the Mohammed bin Rashid Creative Sports Awards, and has an impressive sponsorship portfolio that includes a new contract with Red Bull Egypt.

In this conversation, Goda opens up about what it is like living in the spotlight as a young teenager, how she has been dealing with the weight of expectations and what it will take for her to contend in a sport dominated by East Asians.

You can listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcasting platforms, or watch the full interview on The National News YouTube channel.

This series is produced by The National's multimedia department.
Sound design and audio-engineering by Arthur Eddyson. Video production and promotions by Mahmoud Rida and Phil Green. Visual designs and artwork by Nick Donaldson and Aneesh Grigary. Doaa Farid is the executive producer. The National's head of multimedia is Enas Refaei.