Thrice Dina Meshref has made it to the final of the ITTF Challenge Nigeria Open and she has not been lucky to win the title. The African champion is coming to Lagos to right all the wrongs that had befallen her in previous editions of the championships, which serves off on August 9 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria.
Meshref, who recently completed her first degree at the American University in Cairo (AUC) is coming to Lagos to put her words to action against the star-studded competition this year which has two former champions of the ITTF World Tour.
The unassuming African Games gold medalist said: “Sometimes the weather in Lagos is not friendly but the atmosphere in the hall is something else. It is the delight of every player to play in such atmosphere as the fans make it more exciting and inspiring. I am really looking forward to the tournament because I have been unfortunate having played in the women’s and U21 singles finals in 2014 which I lost. Also in 2015, I lost in the women’s singles final as well. My only consolation was winning the U-21 title. But I am determined to win the title this year.”
She however, described the Nigeria Open as one of the exciting tournaments in the ITTF Calendar with the overwhelming presence and support of fans at the venue.
“Nigeria Open has given most African players the opportunity to showcase their talents as well as garner world ranking points. This is good and I am hoping every African player will avail themselves of this rare opportunity to have such tournament being hosted in the continent. There is no doubt that the host country – Nigeria has potential in the sport and they can make use of the tournament to groom more stars like ArunaQuadri,” the 2017 ITTF Africa Cup champion said.
