Tunisian fencer wins first Arab 2024 Olympics medal with silver in sabre final

Abu Dhabi: As the clock ticked down, Olympic karate gold beckoned for Tarek Hamdi. With seconds remaining in the Men's Kumite + 75kg final at the Tokyo 2020 Games, the Saudi fighter built an insurmountable lead against Iranian opponent Sajjad Ganzadeh.

The historic first gold medal for the state at the Olympic Games was all just a formality. Instead, Hamdi was agonizingly denied gold, conceding a penalty after he was adjudged to have tackled Ganjazadeh with an illegal kick to the head. A heartbroken Hamdi still had to settle for a remarkable silver medal.

The then-22-year-old received a hero's welcome on his return home, his performance setting a new standard for Saudi athletes, many of whom are still finding their feet at this level of competition.

Others also performed with distinction, without coming close to Hamdi's glory.

Rower Hussain Alireza battled bravely despite a rib injury weeks before the Games, while fellow Saudi flag bearer at the opening ceremony in Tokyo – 100m runner Yasmin Al-Dabbagh – became only the second Saudi woman to compete on the track. After Sarah Attar in the field category, London 2012.

Led by coach Saad Al-Shehri, Saudi Arabia's U-23 footballers performed well in all three of their tough group matches in Tokyo but eventually lost 2-1 to Cameroon, 3-2 to Germany and 3-1 to Germany. Brazil, the eventual gold medalists.

Saudi Arabia's squad has been significantly depleted this summer after its 23-man football squad failed to qualify for the Paris Games. However, the 10 members participating in the four games are hoping to emulate, or perhaps surpass, Hamdi's feat.

The Saudi showjumping team consists of Ramzi Al-Duhami, Abdullah Alsharbatli, Khalid Almobti and Abdulrahman Alraji, all of whom struck first in the individual competition and then in the team competition as a quartet between August 1-6.

Of special mention are Al-Duhami, 52, and Alsharbatli, 41, who won bronze in the equestrian team jumping event at the 2012 London Olympics alongside Kamal Bahamadan and Prince Abdullah Al-Saud. In Paris, Al-Dunami will participate in a remarkable sixth Olympic Games.

The kingdom's swimming ambitions will rest on the shoulders of 17-year-old Mashael Al-Aid – Saudi Arabia's first female Olympic swimmer – in the women's 200m freestyle, and, in the men's 100m freestyle, Zaid Al-Saraj. 16, is the youngest member of the Saudi contingent this year.

In track and field, Hibah Mohammed will open Saudi participation in the women's 100m preliminary round on August 2.

On the same day, 26-year-old Hussain Al-Hijam will leap into the record books in the men's pole vault event, having missed the last Olympics. He is chasing himself for going too far.

“I'm very confident that I haven't reached my full potential and I believe that on that day (in Paris) everything can come together, that I can surprise everyone. I really believe I can do that,” Al-Hijam told Paris. told Arab News from his training camp in Germany before leaving.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Dauda Tolo, who booked his place in the shot put event in Paris by improving his Asian record from 20.66m to 21.80m, will be hoping to go at least one better than his fourth-place finish at the 2014 Youth Olympics. Nanjing.

Finally, Donia Abu Taleb will carry the nation's hopes in taekwondo competition after becoming the first Saudi female athlete to officially qualify for the Games. Her predecessors, including Yasmeen Al-Dabagh and Tahani Al-Qahtani (Judo, Tokyo 2020), were given wild cards to compete.

Elsewhere, more success will be expected from Arab players and teams.

The football tournament started on Friday two days before the official ceremony and three Arab teams showed up with good results. In Group B, Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in controversial circumstances, while Iraq managed to beat Ukraine 2-1 in the same group. Egypt will not be disappointed with the 0-0 draw with the Dominican Republic.

Ahmed Hafnaoui, the teenage swimmer who won gold for Tunisia in the men's 400m freestyle event in Tokyo, is back, but sadly the country's tennis superstar Ones Jabeur is out of the Paris Games.

Many North African stars, however, will once again have high hopes of glory. Leading the hopefuls is Algerian sprinter Jamel Sedjati, who won gold in the build-up to Paris 2024 after a stunning run that boosted his chances of breaking David Rudisha's 12-year-old world record in the 800m. .

Ramzi Boukhiam, the first Moroccan or Arab surfer to qualify for the World Surf League Championship Tour, will compete in her second consecutive Olympics, while compatriot Fatima Ezahra Gharadi will aim for a podium spot when she runs the marathon on August 11.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Algerian gymnastics prodigy Kaylia Nemour is hopeful of a medal after a string of international podium finishes in recent years.

Perhaps the highest-profile Arab athlete remains Qatar's Mutaz Barshim, who decided to share the high jump gold in Tokyo with his Italian rival and friend Gianmarco Tamberi amid strange scenes of celebration. With two silver medals from London 2012 and Rio 2016, he competes in Paris as one of the region's most decorated athletes.

Finally, many eyes will be on the 10-strong Palestinian contingent, which will attend Paris with the specter of the war in Gaza.

“I'm going to the Olympics not just for myself, but for all of Palestine,” Wasim Abu Sal, a 20-year-old boxer who will fight in the 57kg weight class in Paris, told Arab News recently. “I am fighting to show the world our dignity and protect our identity.”

From North Africa to the Middle East and the Gulf, Arab athletes will echo those sentiments at Paris 2024.