Egyptian karate outdid itself, winning nine gold and six bronze medals in the ninth edition of the junior championship. “We reached the finals nine times and we didn't lose a single one. That's why we did not win a single silver medal,” Ayman Abdel-Hamid, president of the Egyptian Karate Federation, joked. “We were able to win medals in the World Championship in France in 2012 and now in 2013 in Spain because I decided to apply justice and the fair elimination of players in different competitions,” Abdel-Hamid said. “I take the first four winners in each weight, then we select two to join the national team where we prepare them well. Then we choose one out of the two to travel. So we are giving an equal opportunity to everybody and that is why we don't have a sole champion or sole winner. There are always new champions and new faces on the scene. This way, we increase the enthusiasm of the players to train and do their utmost to reach the national team.” Abdel-Hamid also added to the team a mental fitness coach, Medhat Said, responsible for recharging the players with enthusiasm and self-confidence at both the national and international levels. “We lacked this psychological aspect for years and it has completely affected the performance of the players. That is why we are winning medals every now and then in international events. Said offers problem-solving for the players and enhances their self-confidence.” Egypt will be participating in the All-Africa Games for Juniors and Youth in Butswana in May 2014 and the Seniors World Championship in Germany in November 2014. Abdel-Hamid said the Egyptian federation opened a new district for karate in South Sinai as they are preparing for an international event, the Open Sharm El-Sheikh in May 2014. Egypt also bid for the first time to host the 11th World Championship in 2017. The national team which participated in the World Juniors and Youth Championship comprised 34 players, 17 girls and 17 boys in the four-day event that took place in Guadalajara, Spain. The gold medalists were Ahmed Abdel-Moeen in over 78kg, Areej Saeed under 53kg, Giana Mohamed in over 60kg, Malek Gomaa in under 55kg, Mohamed Al-Sayed in under 67kg,Marah Magdi in under 53 kg, Adham Farid in over 76kg, Israa Nabil in 47kg and Ali Yaqout in over 70kg juniors. The bronze medalists were the team kata, Maya Mahmoud under 54kg juniors, Ahmed Ragad under 63kg juniors, Abdel-Rahman Khaled, under 52kg juniors, Radwa Sayed under 48kg and Mohamed Hamdi in kata. “I played six matches to reach the gold but the most difficult were against the Morocco and Russia's opponents,” Abdel-Moeen, 20, said. “The match against the Moroccan finished 7/5 and it was more difficult than the final against the Russian which I finished 5/0.” Abdel-Moeen plays for the Governorate club in Alexandria and is one of the members of the kumite (fight) national team. He is in his third year in the faculty of commerce in Alexandria University. He said he faced hard times travelling from Alex by train to Cairo after trains were stopped as a security measure due to the unstable political situation in the country. “But I m very happy with my gold medal and I will train hard to be able to join the coming World Championship for men this time and not for youth under 21.” He added that the mental trainer Said has helped him “a lot in being able to beat strong opponents. He kept on telling me you are a lion, you are strong and highlighted my strong points. This affected me greatly especially in the most difficult match against the Moroccan.” Abdel-Moeen participated in the World Cup for men in 2012 and came second although he was only 19 at the time. He also collected the gold medal and the silver in team and single kumite events under 84 kg in the World Universities Championship in 2010. Areej Said, 20, is Egypt's gold champion in the under 53 kg in the kumite event in the world championship. A student in the faculty of politics and economics in Cairo University, she trains in Heliopolis Club. Said expressed her tremendous joy with the gold medal. “It was a dream. I was very happy to be able to overcome the Turkish and the Spanish competitors. The gold medal is very precious and I was very excited while Egypt's flag was hoisted at the podium.” Said said her six matches “were not easy ones but the instructions of the mental trainer and her coach Emad Rabie were positively reflected on my performance” especially in the final when she had a leg injury but still won 1-0. “I always train twice a day as preparation for the international events, once in the early morning before university and in the evening. It is easy to balance between practicing sports and studying if you can handle your time right.” Said has a number of medals including the bronze medal in the World Juniors Championship in Morocco in 2009, silver medal in the World Youth Championship in Malaysia 2011, fifth place in the Seniors World Championship in France 2012, two gold medals in the Islamic Cooperation tournament, silver medalist in the African Championship in 2009 in Algeria and two gold medals in both the World Cup in Greece in 2011 and 2012. Said participated in the Karate Premier League in Holland and Russia as preparation for this World Championship in Spain. “ I am training very well to be able to win in the upcoming national championship to qualify to the national team this year. “I hope to represent Egypt in the Seniors World Cup in November in Germany as there is no sole champion in karate. You have to do your utmost to reach the qualifications to represent your country. We have a fair chance and if you do your best you will qualify and this what I like about the new technique of Dr Abdel-Hamid in running the federation.” Abdel-Hamid is entering the World Karate Federation elections for the executive committee which is to take place alongside the World Championship in November in Germany. Karate started in Egypt in 1970 but flourished in 1983 when famous names like Kais Mustafa and Karim Sherif in kata participated in international events.
