Preview: Egypt face Portugal in handball, swimmer Osman kicks off Olympic campaign
Ahram Online , Friday 23 Jul 2021
Check a summary of the Egyptian Olympic schedule on Saturday


Egypt's handball team face Portugal in their opening Group B game while swimmer Farida Osman kicks off her bid for a medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Saturday.

The Pharaohs, who finished seventh at the World Men's Handball Championship last January, will be looking to make a convincing start against Portugal as they eye their first ever Olympic medal.

"Beginnings are very important … the game against Portugal will be difficult," Egypt star Ali Zein, who recently joined Spanish giants Barcelona, said in a television interview.

"We left a great impression at the World Championship and we are determined to do even better in Tokyo."

The match starts at 12:30 Cairo time (10:30 GMT).

In swimming, Osman, winner of two bronze medals at the World Championship, features in Heat 4 in the women's 100m butterfly at 12:30 Cairo time (10:30 GMT).

Should she finish among the best 16, she will advance to the semi-final. She reached that stage at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games before finishing 12th in the same 100m butterfly event.

Fellow Egyptian swimmer Marwan El-Kamash will also play in Heat 3 of the men's 400m freestyle at 12:48 Cairo time (10:48 GMT), with the top eight progressing to the final.

Egypt's tennis star Mayar Sherif, who made history after becoming the first Egyptian woman to win a main draw match at a Grand Slam in February, meets Sweden's Rebecca Peterson in the first round of the women's singles at 05:30 Cairo time (03:30 GMT).

Fencers Mohab Shawky, Mohamed Abdel-Aal and Ziad El Sissy will play in the men's individual sabre round of 32 while taekwondo fighter Nour Abdelsalam faces Turkey's Rukiye Yildirim in the women's -49kg round of 16.

Yousra Helmi takes on France's Jia Nan Yuan in the first round of the women's table tennis singles while shooter Sami Abdel-Fattah features in the qualifying round of the men's 10m air pistol.

Check Egypt's full Olympics squad

Check Egypt's schedule and results

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