This month, Egyptians have excelled in a variety of sports, including squash, karate, and handball. Previously, Egypt earned the most medals ever in its history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, taking home six, including one gold for Feryal Ashraf, one silver for Ahmed Elgendy, and four bronzes for Giana Farouk, Hedaya Malak, Seif Eissa, and Mohamed “Kesho” Elsayed. Now, new faces are leading the charge of Egyptian success abroad in the sports field.
Feryal Ashraf & Youssef Badawy
Feryal Ashraf was born in 1999 and began learning karate in Cairo when she was seven years old. She received her studies at The British University in Egypt and studied at pharmacy school. She competed for Egypt in the women’s Kumite 68 kg category and took home the silver medal at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco. This month, Ashraf has won the first gold medal for Egypt in the current edition of the Mediterranean Games, after defeating Italian Silvia Semeraro in the final of the 68-kg Karate Kumite competition (2-0). In the past, Ashraf won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics giving Egypt its first gold since 2004. She won a historic gold medal for Egypt, after winning the final match of the karate competition against the world champion where she proved that she deserved to win the gold and write her name in history.
Youssef Badawi also won the gold in the Kumite competitions in the 84-kg weight category, after defeating the Serbian champion in the final. Badawi overcame a critical injury that was going to hinder his participation in the final match. His persistence and passion for karate have enabled him to push through any challenges and strive for success.
Mostafa Asal & Nour El-Sherbini
Due to an abundance of young Egyptian brilliant squash players that have dominated the international stage, Egypt has held the sport’s throne. Mostafa Asal, who was born on May 9, 2001, in Cairo, is one noteworthy player. He recently defeated the number two player in the world, Paul Coll of New Zealand, in a match that lasted 76 minutes and earned him the 2021–22 CIB PSA World Tour Finals title.
Asal did not take home the title on his own; Nour El Sherbini, who defeated world No. 1 fellow Egyptian Nouran Gohar in a match that had us all on the tip of our seats, did as well. The PSA (Professional Squash Association) World Tour boasts some of the most fascinating female competitors, and El Sherbini is one of them. In her career thus far, she has made history at both the World Championship and British Open, the two most prominent competitions on the PSA World Tour. She has won five World Championship medals.
Egypt futsal national team
Egypt’s national futsal team was defeated by Morocco and eliminated from the 2022 Arab Futsal Cup semifinals. The Pharaohs started their matches in Group 2 of the Arab Futsal Cup, competing for the final two spots with Iraq and Algeria. According to King Fut, a victory over Algeria and a draw with Iraq secured their spot in the quarterfinals, where they met Mauritania on Friday. The Pharaohs struggled to a 3-2 victory to advance to the semi-finals, where they faced Morocco, the defending champions, in a rematch of the final from the previous year, in which Morocco won 4-0. But this year, the Egyptians faced the same fate and were eliminated early after another loss, this one by a score of 5-2.
Hana Goda
Born on Wednesday 12 Dec. 2007, Hana Goda enjoyed notable success at the under 15 levels. In 2021 at WTT Youth Star contender events she won in Otocec and Lisbon, and she was the runner-up in Tunis and Wladyslawowo. Goda made her debut at the 2022 Mediterranean games held from June 25th – July 6th, 2022 in Algeria. Additionally, she won a gold medal, making her the third gold medalist in the ping-pong women’s event for Egypt this year.
Amr Reda
Amr Reda won the bronze medal at the 2019 African Games, and he also won the gold medal at the African Wrestling Championships three times. In the freestyle wrestling competitions at the Mediterranean Games in 2022, he also took home the gold medal in his category for the Egyptian delegation. Egypt now has 14 medals, including 4 gold, 5 silver, and 5 bronze, after Reda defeated his Turkish opponent in the 74 kg freestyle wrestling division by a score of 12-1.
From one success to another, Egyptians are creating success on the international level and making all their fans and families undoubtedly proud.