Issue No. 594
Sports
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11 - 17 July 2002 Issue No. 594 Sports |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
Pointed reminder
AN UNPRECEDENTED sporting achievement was made in Egypt last month but nobody was looking.
Yasser Mahmoud, 27, took the epee gold medal at the World Fencing Cup held in Tunisia. It was the country's first gold medal in such a tournament and, as such, deserved to be singled out for praise.
Under standard operating procedure that follows such feats, the victor is given the VIP treatment. An entourage of high-ranking sports officials, headed by the minister of youth, head for the airport, shower the hero with bouquets, kisses, hugs and ubiquitous speeches.
But in Mahmoud's case, the well of well- wishers dried up. Despite his victory, Mahmoud received none of the above felicitations save a congratulatory telegram from Youth Minister Aliyeddin Hilal and a paltry $100 in prize money. There was no welcoming party at the airport; officials of the federation and his family members were the only ones on hand to greet him.
Certainly, Mahmoud's victory should have earned him at least one day in the sun. En route to the finals, which for Mahmoud began from the qualifications because of his near non-existent rankings, he brushed aside veterans from Tunisia, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Austria. Altogether 91 swordsmen representing 21 nations took part and he competed against and defeated some of the best.
His victory put him among the world's top 50. Another medal, from the World Championship in Portugal in August, would catapult Mahmoud to the top 20.
But there will be no repeat performance in Portugal if Mahmoud does not get his due soon. Because this is such a precision sport, fencers need to be constantly fine-tuned and are thus in need of many tune-up matches which must be bankrolled by somebody. If an encore is to be produced, Mahmoud must be given a hand by the state, a respectable budget and perhaps most important, acclaim. He must be recognised for what he has done and what could be expected of him in future.
Mahmoud is not only a local champion but the best on the African and Arab level. Surprisingly, he was excluded from the Olympic champion project set up to prepare talents for future Summer Games. His heroics in Tunisia should make him a shoo-in for the team and he is adamant that if selected, he will do his best in the 2004 Athens Games even if he continues to be left out in the cold.
It does not make sense why Mahmoud was bypassed by the spotlight. Mahmoud, a banker when he's not parrying opponents, is a fine example of how an athlete with meagre resources and who gets scant attention from the media, can reach the highest echelons of his sport. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for those who have taken al
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