27 Sep. - 3 Oct. 2001
Issue No.553
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 27 Sep. - 3 Oct. 2001 Issue No.553 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
A court smash
Egypt made a solid start at an international junior volleyball championship. Abeer Anwar looks at the progress made
Despite slim hopes of lifting the title, Egypt coasted to a quarter-final place in the 7th World Youth Volleyball Championship being held in Cairo.
Against Slovakia in a warm-up, Egypt prevailed
Egypt beat the Czech Republic 3-1, making short work of the title contender, 25-18, 25-20, 28-26, 25-17. "If they keep this up, they will be able to win a medal," Sherif El-Shimari, Egypt's coach, said.
Egypt beat Sudan 3-0 in the opening match and will now face Poland in the battle for top spot in Group A.
In Group B, Taipei received its second setback, losing 3-0 to Iran, Asian champions and a title favourite. "We have been preparing for two years and will do our best to win," said Iranian coach Mustafa Karhaneh.
In Group C, South Korea blanked Venezuela 3-0 to qualify for the quarter-finals along with Iran and Egypt.
In Group D, world No 1 Brazil smashed a lethargic Tunisian side 3-0. Although Tunisia upset Argentina, the world's No 2, a day earlier, the win by the North Africans apparently took its toll.
"This is the first world championship they (Egyptians) play in, so their performance is very satisfying," Amr Elwani, vice president of the International Volleyball Federation, told the Weekly, citing the team's play so far. "My advice to them is to work hard regardless of the results."
"The team has been preparing for this for 18 months," said Hossam Bahgat, head of the Egyptian delegation at the championship, which ends 30 September. For practice, the country played a number of international championships in Poland, Sudan, Russia, France, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The most recent tournament was held in Egypt two weeks ago when Egypt lost to Brazil and France while beating Slovakia.
The Egyptians, between 16 and 17, had their hands full with training and end-of-year exams but according to Elwani, coaches were available during that period "if any player had time to train."
Preparations to host the event took one year. Hugo Huff, president of the control committee, was reported to have been awed by the more than 20 indoor halls in Cairo alone. "Huff visited Cairo just once although the norm for such inspection tours is between three and four," Elwani said.
For the first time Egypt will apply the VIS system, a computer analysis of the matches sent immediately on the Internet. The system needed two months of training. A new Web site (www.volleyeg.com) has been created for up-to- the-minute news.
"My aim after being elected vice president was to improve volleyball in Egypt and to present its real civilisation to the world," Elwani added. "When I presented the Egyptian bid, I was faced with opposition claims that Egypt was not safe. But I was backed up by two or three countries and we won." Egypt has hosted two African qualification tournaments which most experts viewed as successful.
The opening one-hour ceremony on 22 September included folklore and Pharaonic dances and the unveiling of the championship's mascot, King Tutankhamun, juggling a volleyball.
All matches are being played at the Cairo Complex, at indoor halls one and two. Tickets are available at the gates. An entire tournament ticket was going for LE25, LE10 for one day's matches and LE2 for one match. Matches can be seen on TV channels two and five, Nile International, Nile Sports, Orbit and the Egyptian Satellite Channel.
Meanwhile, the championship cup, which was impounded at Cairo Airport last month, was recently released to the Egyptian federation after it paid the trophy's customs duties.
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