The retired athlete has now experienced being the first judoka ever at all levels of the sport: player, coach, official and referee. Mesbah, the under-90kg bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, claimed his international refereeing badge in November after passing his tests. His first point of destination was at last week's Russian National Juniors Championships, where he was appointed supervisor referee of the four-day event. “It was a big event with hundreds of participants,” Mesbah told Al-Ahram Weekly. “It was my first designation, supervisor referee and the only foreigner while all the other referees were Russians since it was the Nationals. It was so challenging and I had to prove myself especially with the attendance of Europe's Referee Commissioner Alexander Jatskevitch of Latvia, who was so pleased with how I managed my first experience as a supervisor referee.” Mesbah also told the story of him becoming a referee. “In late 2016, the IJF President Marius Vizer visited Egypt and met officials and coaches of the Egyptian Judo Federation. At that time, I was head coach of the national junior team. The IJF president has always been appreciative and close to Olympic champions. As we talked, he encouraged me to take on refereeing and invited me, together with other Egyptian coaches, to attend a seminar in Baku, Azerbaijan, in January 2017 which was meant to train coaches and referees under the sport's new rules which the IJF had just implemented. “I went, took the course, passed and returned but unfortunately didn't follow up and got busy training my junior team. Then elections were held and I won a seat as a member of the board of the Egyptian Judo Federation. According to the rules, an official can't train a national team, so I quit and kept my position as an official at the board. Suddenly, I received in August another invitation from the IJF president again, inviting me to attend the opening ceremony of the World Championships in September where I would be in the Judo Hall of Fame. In Baku, I met the IJF Head Referee Director Juan Carlos Barcos of Spain, who was surprised why I hadn't followed up and that they needed me to go to Australia to attend another course to claim the badge. I not only passed but I also became the youngest referee at the age of 36. “I was really glad to receive my refereeing badge because I have worked so hard to get it and I truly thank everyone who has helped in any way. I have always wanted to get back onto the judo mat, and I luckily did, but as a referee this time,” Mesbah told Al-Ahram Weekly. The Olympic champion from Alexandria had a remarkable record of achievements on the national, regional, continental and international levels. In addition to his Olympic medal, the 36-year-old also won the Grand Prix in Qingdao in 2009, the All-Africa Games gold medal in 2007 and in Maputo in 2011, the latter two in the same U-90kg category. After his retirement, Mesbah took on coaching, training the junior national team. He then became an elected member of the board of the Egyptian Judo Federation which made him an official of the sport. In appreciation of his Olympic achievement and contribution to the sport, the former judoka was selected by the International Judo Federation for induction into the IJF Hall of Fame in 2018. He received his award in a ceremony that took place in September during the World Championships held in Baku. “I am thrilled with the selection and was so proud to receive a congratulatory email from the IJF President Marius Vizer to inform me about my selection, also inviting me to attend the world championships in Baku,” Mesbah told the Weekly at the time. Mesbah is also a professor in the Logistics Department of the Arab Maritime & Technology Academy in Egypt.
