ITTF Premier Lotto Nigerian Open: Egypt’s Shady Magdy ready to defend U-21 title in Lagos

African U-21 Men’s singles champion, Egypt’s Shady Magdy, believes that he has the wherewithal to retain his title at the forthcoming ITTF Premier Lotto Nigerian Open (Lagos 2016).
The Egyptian who made headlines at the Kuwait Open when he caused three upsets in a row to make it to the last four of the U-21 men’s singles event states that he is ready to hold on to the laurels he won at the expense of Nigeria’s Ojo Onaolapo in 2015.
“I will do my best in the training in the few days until the tournament as I have a great self-confidence now and this pushes me a lot. Internally I’m ready as I have confidence having beaten many high-ranked players lately so I feel good to defend my title in Lagos.
“My plans are to retain the U-21 title and to reach the peak in the men’s singles. I will try to do my best to at least by claiming the two titles; it is going to be hard and why not? It is not easy at all as everyone now is looking forward to beat me being the African U-21 champion and with my most recent results, I must admit that it is not going to be easy at all in Lagos because Nigeria has a lot of good players,” Magdy said.
Magdy will be partnering compatriot – Mahmoud Helmy in the men’s doubles and he said: “We understand ourselves and I think we are good for the title as well.”
He described the atmosphere in Lagos as unique compared to other tournaments across the globe. “The atmosphere in Lagos is crazy because the fans really love the game and for me this is very unique. Being my second visit to Lagos and my impression during my first visit was the overwhelming support the players got from the fans while the venue also added glamour to the tournament. It was very fantastic with the fans and media support was very impressive while the venue was excellent. But I must admit that the weather was not that friendly as it was too hot,” he said.