by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF Africa, Media Officer

After losing the first game by whisker, Farah Abdel-Aziz made up her mind to put everything into the encounter; it paid off for her as the Egyptian recorded one of the biggest wins of her career.

After losing the first game, Farah Abdel-Aziz finished off the match capturing four games in a row to record a four-one win over the 2011 African Games Champion.

An excited Farah Abdel-Aziz said after the victory that she was surprised she could beat Offiong Edem whom she referred to as a ‘legend’ of the game in Africa.

“After playing well in the group to qualify for the quarter-finals I found out that I would be meeting her, I was just praying for luck. So the win was so surprising for me because I could not return her service in the first game, it looked so complicated.  She was leading 10-8 in the first game and I caught up with her only to lose two points easily for the match to end at 12-10.

In the second game, I just made up my mind to ensure that I would return the service well by putting the ball on the table and this really worked out for me. Beating her means a lot to me because she is a legend of the game and she is part of the table tennis history in Africa because of her records. I will cherish this victory for a very long time.” Farah Abdel-Aziz

Farah Abdel-Aziz now meets colleague Dina Meshref in the penultimate round, a tournament that is a qualification event for the Women’s World Cup to be staged in Markham, Toronto, later in the year.