Interview By: Al-Zahraa Rashad

What are the most important stations in your sports career as a coach?

My doctoral dissertation played a major role in my coaching career. After the establishment of the Center for talented Athletes in Fencing in 1995 with the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, I began my coaching career starting with the group on which I applied the experimental study during my doctorate. I continued working at the Center for talented Athletes from 1995 to 2002.

The beginning of fencing activity in Tanta was with the Muslim Youth Association, with the support of the late Mustafa Al-Bakri, the chairman of the board of directors at the time. The team then moved to represent the Military Sports Institution affiliated to the Egyptian Armed Forces Sport Authority until now. I was also appointed technical director of fencing at the Egyptian Armed Forces Sport Authority.

I worked as a coach for the fencing weapon game at the School of talented Athletes in Nasr City in 1999/2000. I then became a coach for the Egyptian junior team (Hope team) in 2003/2004. In 2007, I began my career as director of fencing at the Armed Forces Sports Authority. The fencing team enjoys excellent support from various aspects, both material and moral. In 2018, I became the technical director of the Egyptian national team for the fence weapon.

What are the most notable achievements achieved by the Egyptian fencing team under your artistic leadership?

 Through my work as a coach of the Egyptian youth team, I succeeded in qualifying for the Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010. I participated as a coach in the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China in 2014. The champion "Ahmed El-Sayed" had booked a qualifying ticket for Africa by reaching the round of 16 in the qualifying world championships held in Bulgaria in 2014. Then for Africa for the Youth Olympics held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2018, and the champion "Mohamed El-Sayed" was the holder of the qualifying ticket in the sabre weapon. I also participated in the Senior Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
 

The fencing team has achieved various achievements since 2021 globally and internationally. We want to shed light on these achievements?
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, we worked hard through online training programs. In 2021, my team won the silver medal at the World Championship in Cairo, before the qualifying competitions for the Olympics. Ahmed El-Sayed also won the bronze medal, which is the first time in Egyptian history for an individual athlete. More than 300 athletes participated in this tournament.

Mohamed El-Sayed also achieved a major surprise at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by eliminating the French champion, the world`s number one, in the round of 32, and the Chinese champion in the round of 16. He reached the round of 16 and had a chance to win a medal, despite being only 18 years old. From here, Mohamed El-Sayed`s name began to shine, and the Egyptian state, the fencing federation, and the Ministry of Youth began to place their hopes on him.

What championships did the team achieve after that?

After the Tokyo Olympics, our players succeeded in achieving a historic epic during the period from 2021 to 2023. In December 2021, the youth sabre team won the individual and team World Cup in Uzbekistan. Mohamed El-Sayed won the individual gold medal, and we also won the team title through our players: Mohamed El-Sayed, Mahmoud El-Sayed, Mohamed Yasin, and Amr Khaled. This was the first world medal for Egypt in epee since the medal of Ayman Alaa, who won a gold medal in the under-17 category in 2008, and a silver medal in the under-20 category in 2010.

The year 2022 represents an inspiring year for Egyptian teams in fencing sports through the many achievements that were achieved this year. We want to know an overview of these achievements?
We have achieved several diverse achievements this year. We succeeded in winning a gold medal at the individual and team level for the champion Mohamed Yasin in the World Cup in Bahrain. We also won the gold medal for the team in the World Cup in Belgrade, Serbia, through the champions Mohamed El-Sayed, Mahmoud El-Sayed, Mohamed Yasin, and Amr Khaled.

The champion Mohamed El-Sayed also won the gold medal in the Mediterranean Games in Oran in the epee weapon in 2022, which is the first in Egyptian history after the silver medal of the player Ahmed Nabil 12 years ago. The champion Mohamed Yasin also won the silver medal in the World Individual Championship in Dubai in the same year, and the Egyptian team won the gold medal for the teams through the champions "Mohamed El-Sayed, Mohamed Yasin, Mahmoud El-Sayed, Mohamed Jaber".

The champion Youssef Shamel also won two bronze medals in the African Youth Championship in Ghana as part of our national youth team, in addition to the bronze medal in the World Cup in Uzbekistan in 2022. The same year also witnessed various achievements for the champions Amr Khaled and Mohamed Jaber, who succeeded in winning several medals at the team level in the World Cup in Serbia and the World Team Championship in Dubai.

It is worth noting that winning medals in the World Championship at the individual and team levels is not an easy task, and it is something that has not been achieved in many countries, and it gave us a singularity and a global leadership. This is what was repeated in 2023 through the diversity of achievements, and the most important of them is winning the gold medals in the individual and team categories in the Youth World Cup held in Udine, Italy, where the champion Mohamed El-Sayed won the gold medal in the individual, and the gold medal in the team.

The team also won two gold medals in the individual and team categories in the Youth World Championship held in Bulgaria in 2023. The last achievement was the World Cup in Georgia, where Mohamed Yasin won the silver medal at the individual level.

The men`s senior team also achieved unique results during this Olympic cycle for the Egyptian Fencing Federation that had never happened before in the World Cup tournaments, where it won against the French team in 2021, and against the Italian team in 2022. Currently, the men`s senior team ranks eighth in the world according to the International Fencing Federation ranking. The youth team also ranks first.

At the individual level for youth, the champion Mohamed El-Sayed won the award for the best player in the world by maintaining the top of the world ranking for the 2023 international sports season. He was awarded the best player award during the meeting of the International Fencing Congress in Sharm El Sheikh in December 2023.

In light of these distinguished results, what are your expectations for the Egyptian weapons team in the upcoming Olympics?
 
The current generation is characterized by the fact that most of them are young, and the average age of our champions is younger than the rest of the countries of the world. Therefore, we expect promising results from them in the 2024 Paris Olympics. I expect that the 2028 Los Angeles Games will see a huge participation of our champions in the sport of fencing, especially with the accumulation of their experience in the game.
 
Currently, we have what we can call a "factory of champions" and not just one champion. For example, we have the champion "Ahmed El-Sayed" who won the World Cup general men`s championship in Kazan 2021, in addition to his multiple achievements in continental championships.
The champion "Mohamed El-Sayed" who won the gold medal in the Mediterranean Games in Oran 2022, the gold medal in the World Cup in Kazakhstan 2021, the gold medal in the World Cup in Udine, Italy 2023, the gold medal in the World Cup in Bahrain 2023, and many world first places at the team level and the eighth place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He has multiple achievements until he became the world number one in the sport of foil at the youth level.

Also, the champion "Mohamed Yasin" became the world number one this season and we are striving to maintain the lead this season to complete our unique achievements at the international level. The player won the gold medal in the World Cup in Bahrain 2022, the silver medal in the World Championship in Cairo 2021, the silver medal in the World Championship in Dubai 2022, the gold medal in the World Championship in Bulgaria 2023, and the silver medal in the World Cup in Georgia 2023.

The champion "Youssef Shamel" is one of the next generation of champions in the youth team under 20 years old, who won the bronze medal in the World Cup in Kazakhstan 2022, in addition to world achievements at the team level.

This reflects the vision of the state in sustainable development 2030, which reflects the ability of the state to preserve sporting gains and continue achievements, and that future generations benefit from the support, energy, and ambition that is passed down from "generation to generation".

What message do you send at the end of this Interview?
 
I would like to thank all the supporters of fencing in Egypt, led by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Minister Dr. Ashraf Sobhi, and Egyptian Fencing Federation, led by Captain Abdel Moneim El-Husseiny, who was able to obtain support and sponsorship to provide us with all means that would prepare all conditions for international participation for our players and acquire international experience and reach high technical level in addition to setting clear visions and goals that we strive to achieve. Also, great role of championship sector of Sports Authority of the Egyptian Armed Forces, which provided us with support and an integrated system for preparing distinguished champions.