25 - 31 October 2001
Issue No.557
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 25 - 31 October 2001 Issue No.557 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
The karate kid
An Egyptian makes inroads in Japanese combat. Abeer Anwar spoke to the new teen queen of the chop
At age eight, it was apparent Heba Salah had a knack for using her hands and feet to optimum use. First exposed to the martial art of karate in 1990 at the Gezira Youth Centre, Salah was good enough to join the Egyptian youth team just five years later. Now 19, the girl with the svelte physique and a mean chop was good enough to win a gold medal at the world youth championships in Athens, an unprecedented achievement for Egyptian karate for either sex and in any age group.
Salah all dressed up
In Athens, Salah overpowered foes from Australia, Slovania and Germany before coming up against a Swiss Miss in the semi- final who was blown away 9-0 despite the European's vast experience. In the final, Salah again prevented her opponent, this time a Tunisian, from scoring a point, blanking her 6-0 to walk away with the gold and a unique accomplishment.
"This proves that a lot can be achieved in individual sports," Zakaria Abdel-Aziz, president of the Egyptian Karate Federation, said. He said that because such sports need support, the federation was currently in the hunt for a sponsor to help promising players reach international levels.
When she took up karate, Salah began with the kata, the number of actions performed in the sport. But at 12, she switched to the kumite, or the actual fight. "Kata depends mainly on the style and beauty of the action performed," Salah told Al-Ahram Weekly. "You are judged by the referee because there are no set points for certain actions but in kumite it's the opposite. It is much easier to score because it very clear for everyone to see when, for example, you hit a certain player in the stomach with a punch or your legs."
Salah's petite frame -- she plays in the under-53kg weight category -- was put on display first in the youth national team. Outside of Egypt, Salah's career in unarmed combat began in earnest in 1998 when she won two gold medals in kumite events in the African karate championship in Cameroon. In the Arab Games in Lebanon in 1997, she added two gold medals in team kumite and was selected the tournament's best player.
In the 1999 Arab Games in Jordan, she won the gold and the bronze in team kumite and added two more gold medals and one bronze in the 1999 African Games in South Africa, again in team kumite.
In her first world youth championship, in France last year, she finished fifth. Three gold medals came in the 2000 Middle East Games before she suffered a setback by garnering only a bronze in the 2001 Mediterranean Games in Tunisia. "I played a Tunisian in the semi-final and although she did nothing, she was adjudged the winner which I thought was unfair." Justice was served in Athens against the same Tunisian.
To prepare for the championship, Salah trained for six months at the Olympic Centre in Maadi, plus training stints in Germany and Scotland. "I benefited a lot because I got in contact with the European school of kumite."
She attributed her success to the efforts of Sherif El-Awadi, her national team coach, and Hussein El-Dosoki, Egypt's No. 1 kumite player who trained with her for two weeks prior to the championship. "I learnt a lot from El-Dosoki to the extent that I acquired his style."
A student in the Faculty of Physical Education, Salah practices in El-Zohour club, home of nearly all the country's professional karate players. "I'm nervous when I play. I hit quickly and get excited very easily."
"I'm happy but concerned about being able to stay on the top," Salah said after her famous victory. Her fears have forced her to dramatically change her playing style. "I think all my competitors have learned my methods. I have to change in order to be quicker and use a bigger variety of punches and kicks."
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page