In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Egypt grabbed only one bronze medal, courtesy of judoka Hesham Mesbah. Four years earlier, in the Olympic Games held in Athens in 2004, the Egyptians claimed five medals. They were a gold in wrestling, a silver in boxing and three bronze medals for boxing and taekwondo. Karam Gaber won gold in the Men's Greco-Roman 96kg wrestling event, while Mohamed Ali won the silver in the Men's Super Heavyweight boxing. Three bronze medals went to Ahmed Ismail, Mohamed el-Sayyed and Tamer Bayoumi in boxing and taekwondo. Athens Games broke the medal drought for the country, which had not won a medal at an Olympic Games since Los Angeles in 1984. This year, at the Youth Olympics Games due to be held in Singapore from August 14 to 28, Egyptians are optimistic about winning at least six medals. "We are pinning our hopes on our athletes to do a lot at the Singapore Games," Dr Mahmoud Shoukri, the Chairman of the Planning Commission in the Egyptian Olympic Committee (EOC), told the Egyptian Mail in an interview. According to the official, weightlifting, modern pentathlon, boxing, wrestling and taekwondo are the sports in which Egypt is most likely to scoop gongs ��" and hopefully lots of them. Shoukri explained that there are around 70 athletes (30 girls and 40 boys), who will represent the country in Singapore. According to him, the preparation camps for all the federations that have qualified for the Youth Games are soon to finish. "There are 15 federations participating in the Olympics," Shoukri said. They include the Volleyball, Gymnastics, Basketball, Boxing, Handball, Weightlifting, Swimming, Wrestling, Table Tennis, Fencing, Shooting, Archery and Athletics federations. The Egyptian Judo Federation did not participate in the qualification round for the Olympics, while the Cycling, Equestrian and Sailing Federations all offered their apologies. The EOC, a non-profit organisation, is part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was formed in 1910, with the symbolic participation of Egypt in the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. Egypt was the 14th country to join the IOC. Egypt first participated in the Olympic Games in 1912, and has sent athletes to compete in most editions of the Summer Olympic Games since then. "There are also three federations, which tried to qualify but didn't succeed, including Rowing and the Triathlon [swimming, cycling and running]," Shoukri added. The Singapore Games will feature 26 sports, forming 31 disciplines, including diving and swimming), and two gymnastic disciplines ��" artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. Along with Iraq and Lebanon, Egypt boycotted the 1956 Games in protest at the tripartite Israeli, British and French invasion of Egypt at the peak of the Suez Crisis. The Singapore Games will be a rallying point for young athletes who share the same goal and the same enthusiasm for sport. Shoukri explained that the preparation camps for the federations, which have qualified and their athletes, started a long time ago, with domestic camps that will end with participating in an external international championship for team sports and two international tournaments for individual sports. He discloses that around LE5 million (nearly $1 million) has been spent on the federations. "This budget was decided by the EOC before the qualification rounds started. The federations that have qualified will soon get another LE3 million to continue with their preparations that will end by the end of July," he comments. Meanwhile, Dr Nader Shalabi, a member of the EOC, added that its main objective is to merge the Egyptian federations with the National Sports Council (NSC). "We are discussing, preparing and then making the final planning for the federations to come up with their programmes for any forthcoming events," Shalabi says. He adds that, after each of the qualified federations has presented a plan for the preparations camps for the Olympics, the EOC then starts discussing them. After approval, the EOC sends the plan to the NSC for funding. "We still have the All-Africa Games in Morocco this July, which will be good preparation for our athletes for the fierce competitions at the Olympics." Egypt's Olympic medal tally Boxing: Silver 1 Bronze 3 Diving: Silver 1 Bronze 1 Judo: Silver 1 Bronze 1 Taekwondo: Bronze 1 Weightlifting: Gold 5 Silver 2 Bronze 2 Wrestling: Gold 2 Silver 2 Bronze 2 Total: Gold: 7, Silver: 7, Bronze: 10 Egypt's 2004 and 2008 tally Egyptian athletes have collected a total of 24 medals, with weightlifting being their most successful Egyptian sport. 1 Gold - Karam Gaber - 2004 Athens Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman 96kg. 2 Silver - Mohamed Ali - 2004 Athens Boxing Men's Super Heavyweight. 3 Bronze - Ahmed Ismail - 2004 Athens Boxing Men's Light Heavyweight. 3 Bronze - Mohamed el-Sayyed - 2004 Athens Boxing Men's Heavyweight. 3 Bronze - Tamer Bayoumi - 2004 Athens Taekwondo Men's 58kg. 3 Bronze - Hesham Mesbah - 2008 Beijing Judo Men's 90kg.
