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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Making a point
By Eman Moemen
Five Egyptian players representing all the disciplines in the sport are heading for Sydney, a record number of swashbuckling swordsmen and women for the country. They qualified after nailing their foes at the African eliminations held at the Olympic Centre in Maadi last week.
In the foil, Shaima El-Gamal easily defeated Tunisia's Sundus Samundis 15-8. In epee, May Mustafa had a harder time shaking off Senegal's Nasy Towro 15-11. In the spear, Mohannad Seif breezed by Morocco's Ramy Esam 15-8 and African champion Mahmoud Samir edged Tunisia's Mohamed Rabey 15-14. Tamer Tahoon, ranked 120 in the world, qualified on the strength of his performance in the World Cup in Copenhagen and the Bonn Championship.
Dressed to kill, fencers duel for the right to Sydney
Photo: Osama Abdel-Nabi
Along with the five Egyptian competitors, Algeria's Wasila Radwan in the foil and compatriot Zahra Kamber in epee also qualified for the Summer Games after notching 10 points in the world championship.
The call-up to Sydney, says Mokhtar Abdel-Shafy, manager of the Egyptian Fencing Federation, boosted morale and gave the players a glimmer of hope of winning an Olympic medal. "The federation is working hard to prepare for Sydney," Abdel-Shafy said. "The players will soon enter an international championship to gain more experience."
Strengthening its hold on the sport on the continent, Egypt won the African fencing championship, also held in Cairo last week. Using 12 players, Egypt beat out Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal.
