For the First Time Ever, Two Egyptian Tennis Athletes Make It to the Olympics
As the events of the 12th African Games in Rabat, Morocco unfolded, Egyptian athletes came on top with a lion’s share of the triumphs. Egypt claimed 229 medals, 79 of which were gold, 87 silver, and 59 bronze, thus, procuring the greatest number of medals in both total and individual categories.
According to the Egyptian Olympian Committee, the number of medals awarded during this year’s African Games was the highest to ever be scored in the history of the event. Egypt did not just shatter expectations, it raised the bar to a new standard
However, it was not all about record-breaking numbers. There were symbolic moments as well. One of the most defining was Egypt’s qualification to the Olympic tennis events at Tokyo 2020. Athletes Mayar Sherif and Mohammed Safwat earned themselves gold medals at the 2019 African Games, setting new records in the process and securing Egypt a spot to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Out of Tennis’ top 300 athletes, Sherif happens to hold the 256th place. The 23-year-old’s Olympic debut will be in Tokyo, however, she needs to maintain her current ranking until the tournament begins next year.
As for Safwat, he qualified for the men’s individual event after besting his fellow countryman Karim Ma’moun in two straight sets. He currently holds the 233rd place out of the game’s top 300 players.
The Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to to take place between the 24th of July and the 9th of August of 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. These highly-anticipated games are to include a number of distinguished athletes from all over the world competing in a number of Olympic sports.
