Revealing the reason for the exclusion of the first Egyptian boxer from the Olympics
Heba Press / Agencies
On Sunday, the Egyptian Olympic Committee announced the results of the investigation into boxer Yomna Ayyad, who lost and was eliminated from the competition, without having participated in her first fight at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, due to exceeding the maximum limits. weight in her category.
On Saturday, the organizing committee of the boxing competitions excluded Ayyad, who was due to compete in the under-54 kilos competition, after she failed the exam and the scales before her confrontation with Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova, who therefore qualified directly to the eighth round of the competition.
The president of the Egyptian Boxing Federation, Abdel Aziz Ghoneim, revealed that an urgent investigation had been opened to determine the reasons for this sudden increase in the player’s weight, stressing that her weight was ideal the day before the competition.
Ghoneim told Egyptian channel “Sada El Balad” that Ayyad’s exclusion was due to her weight gain of around 700 grams, noting that “the player’s weight until Friday night was ideal at 54 kilograms.”
According to the Egyptian Olympic Committee’s statement on Sunday, Ayyad “suffered upon her arrival in Paris from weight gain resulting from the conditions and circumstances of the day of travel and the flight, and she was then able to reach the special weight after following a special program” in the days leading up to the competition and after her arrival in Paris.
The statement went on to say that the player “was surprised by physiological and hormonal changes that are understandable to all women, ladies and doctors, and we reserve reservations about mentioning the details in accordance with our Egyptian customs and traditions and to preserve the rights and psychology of the player.”
The statement said there was a detailed report from the medical commission confirming that no responsibility was attributed to the player and the technical and administrative staff, and explained that it could be consulted by anyone wishing to attend the commission.
The committee’s statement mentioned Yomna Ayyad’s results, which allowed her to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games as the first place for Africa.
Ayyad is the first Egyptian boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games.
It is worth noting that Egypt is participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the largest delegation from the Arab world and Africa, comprising 164 players.
