Hesham Mesbah was Egypt's undisputed hero four years ago in Beijing. Having one the country's only medal in 2008, he will be expected to replicate that achievement in London. The 30-year-old was little known when he came out of the blue to dominate Egyptian headlines in 2008 after the huge disappointments of his fellow countrymen at the Beijing Games. Egyptians, ecstatic after the country collected five medals at the 2004 Athens Games, including one Gold, were anticipating similar achievements in Beijing but were let down by a disastrous outcome, only taking consolation from Mesbah's triumph. He clinched the bronze medal in style, beating Frenchman Yves-Matthieu Dafreville by a full point, known as “ippon”, for third place in the men's 90 Kg contest. "I was so happy. I was so glad that the people were happy, more than winning a medal. It means a lot to me,” he told Ahram at the time. “I had a lot of training and international championships. Our standing on the international level was good.” It was Egypt's second Judo medal following the 1984 remarkable triumph of Mohamed Rashwan, who won the silver medal at the Los Angeles Games after losing the final to Japan's Yasuhiro Yamashita. Mesbah, born in Mediterranean city Alexandria, is the most high-profile athlete in Egypt's Judo delegation to London. He was declared fit for the London Games after recovering from an injury few weeks before it begins. He was quoted by local media as saying he was not completely satisfied with preparations for the London Games, given the political turmoil that has engulfed Egypt since the 2011 January uprising. However, he is still burdened with the task of winning another medal. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)
