Egypt’s national judo team came out on top at the African Senior Judo Championships, which took place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 24 to 27 April. The event featured 185 athletes from 24 countries across the continent.
In the mixed team event, Egypt won five gold, one silver, and four bronze medals in total.
Egypt captured the title after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Algeria in the final, thanks to standout performances by Tasneem Roshdi, Fares Shehata, Farida Magdi, Abdel-Rahman Abdel-Ghani, Safaa Suleiman, and Abdullah Fahmi. Their journey to the final saw them defeat Angola 4-2 in the semi-finals, following a commanding 4-0 win over host nation Côte d’Ivoire in the quarter-finals.
This success in the team event came on the heels of an exceptional showing in the individual competitions where Egypt again topped the overall standings with nine medals: four gold, one silver, and four bronze. Abdel-Ghani, Fahmi, Mohamed Abdo, and Yousry Sami claimed gold in their respective categories, while Omar Al-Ramli added a silver medal. Bronze medals were secured by Ali Mohamed, Nora Ahmed Suleiman, Roshdi, and Fatima Mohamed. Several other athletes, including Magdi, Zeinab Safaa, and Habiba Ayman, had strong fifth-place finishes, with Safaa Suleiman coming seventh.
The team had 16 judokas, featuring eight new faces making their continental debut, a reflection of the Egyptian Judo Federation’s commitment, under the leadership of Mohamed Motei, to refreshing the national team with young talent capable of carrying the sport forward in the coming years.
The delegation was headed by Motei, who is also assistant secretary general of the Egyptian Olympic Committee, with council member Ahmed Abdel-Hamid accompanying the team. The technical staff, led by Hisham Mesbah, along with Japanese expert Izumi Hiroshi and coaches Hussein Hafiz, Mohamed Mounir, Magdi Al-Saidi (women’s coach), and Iman Al-Banna, played a crucial role in Egypt’s remarkable success.
Motei expressed his “great pride” after Egypt captured the African title. “I extend my sincerest thanks and appreciation to our national team, heroes of this tremendous achievement. We also clinched the gold medal in the mixed team event after a tough victory over a strong Algerian side.
“Since the new board took over after the Paris 2024 Olympics, we have focused on holding domestic tournaments and developing our athletes. For this championship, we included eight new young players from the juniors and youth ranks, with the oldest member of the team just 26 years old, significantly lowering the team’s average age, a goal we have worked towards from day one.”
Motei explained that player selection was based on performances in local tournaments, followed by a training camp at the Olympic Centre in Maadi and an international camp in Hungary. The preparations, carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Egyptian Olympic Committee, were crucial for providing international exposure and experience under foreign experts.
He said that the team’s strong showing at the African Championships was a vital step towards executing the federation’s broader plan to achieve podium finishes at the world level. “We are working according to a clear strategy to prepare a powerful generation capable of competing at major international events,” Motei affirmed.
Motei outlined the team’s upcoming plans. The youth and junior squads are set to participate in the African Championships in Angola this July, while the senior team will compete at the World Championships in June. Preparations for the seniors will include a domestic training camp in Ismailia, followed by an overseas camp, with the host country to be decided soon.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 1 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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