African champion Dina Meshref is a famous face of modern table tennis in Africa and her profile continues to rise globally, having just be named among Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ in the Middle East. In this conversation with the Cairo-born and America University of Cairo graduate reveals how she was able to find her feet in the highly competitive global table tennis arena.
Dina Meshref is a household name in both African and global table tennis family. The African women’s champion has come a long way and deserves every accolades that has come her way in the sport. And Meshref is grateful for what table tennis has accomplished in her life.
“Table tennis has given me lots of lessons including life lessons and not just lessons related to sports. With all the tough moments I have been through, the wins, the difficulties all that have definitely impacted me a lot and have had positive effects on my personality. Table tennis has given me opportunities to live some very great moments. Table tennis has also allowed me to travel a lot and gain lots of experience and knowledge,” Meshref added.
Over the years Meshref has given the table tennis world many great, titillating moments in the course of several tough duels with the very best in the game. But what keeps the Egyptian going during such memorable combats in table tennis?
Meshref said: “Competition motivates me a lot. The stronger the competition, the more motivated I am to exert effort and work hard. Also, the good moments after winning and accomplishing something motivate me to keep going and do better in order to live those moments again. And the losses I go through motivate me so much to work hard and work on myself.”
Meshref has received many laurels in ping pong. However, when asked her to put a finger on her greatest moment thus far in her illustrious playing career.
“My greatest moment in table tennis was winning the gold medal at the 2018 Mediterranean Games for the single’s event. It was the first time for an Egyptian to do so and there was a very good Chinese player playing for Monaco (Yang Xiaoxin). So after beating her in the final, I was so happy with that big win. There are also lots of other great moments such as winning against players like Chen Szu Yu from Chinese Taipei at the 2022 WTT Contender in Croatia or Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong at the 2022 WTT Champions Event in Macao 2022. Winning against such players meant a lot to me,” the African champion revealed.
Meshref has been strategic playing the 2022 table tennis season: “This season I’m not playing in the French league. I’m back to playing in Egypt as there are a lot of international WTT events. With the French league, I didn’t have time to rest or have good training sessions as I would love to. Last year, when I decided to play in the French league, it was because I wanted to play more high-level matches in order to gain more experience.”
The African queen of table tennis has faced many personal and sporting challenges in life and conquered by handling them straight on.
She said: “I handle life challenges through past experiences where I have gone through challenges and then overcame them. So I remind myself of those times in order to reassure myself. Also, thank God, my family supports me tremendously throughout any challenges.”
Meshref’s counsel to upcoming players is instructive: “I would advise younger players to be patient, keep working very hard, and never give up. Giving up could take away an opportunity to accomplish great things. Also, it is very important to be obedient to coaches and disciplined in general.
“Table tennis needs a lot of mental effort and tactics due to the different skills and spins involved in the game. I think the difficulty comes when you need to think of tactics and at the same time expect the opponent’s next moves and reactions to that tactics.”
Meshref is conscious of the fact that sports champions like her are role models in society and she endeavours to be a good example to young people who look up to her in table tennis and outside the sport.
She said: “I guess I am trying to be a good example to other players in Egypt and abroad. I think ethics and sportsmanship are very important and if I am a good example to others in that regard, I can positively affect other young players or other people in general.”
Like all top players, Meshref has her eyes on the 2024 Olympic Games. She looks forward to a great outing at the games in Paris:
“I really wish I can get a great and unprecedented result at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Also, I want to win a medal and make it to the podium at a big event such as a WTT event,” Meshref said.