Tokyo 2020: Algerian boxing hopes to shine in the land of the Rising Sun

Algerian Roumaysa Boualam (d) qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Seyllou / AFP

Text by: Farid Achache Follow

With seven representatives, Algerian boxing hopes to win a medal at the Tokyo Games. In 2016 in Rio, the team returned without the slightest charm. Questioned by RFI, the DTN Mourad Meziane expects at least one medal from its athletes.

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In Dakar, Senegal, Algerian boxing shone behind Morocco by winning seven of the twenty-six tickets at stake during the qualification tournament. Five boys and two girls (a first) managed to get their ticket to the Tokyo Olympics next summer.

They are Mohamed Flissi (52kg), Younès Nemouchi (75kg), Abdelhafid Benchebla (91kg), Mohamed Houmri (81kg), Chouiab Bouloudinat (+ 91kg), Roumaysa Boualam (51kg) and Imane Khelif (60kg). A nice surprise when the Algerian boxing was satisfied with three medals (two in gold and one in bronze) during the African Games in Rabat last August.

Two girls will be historic for us. They can be present for a medal with a good draw. We will encourage them without putting pressure on them, ”explains Mourad Meziane, the national technical director, to RFI.

A successor to Hocine Soltani

Boxing remains for Algeria an important sport in the history of the Olympic Games. Of the five gold medals gleaned from his participation in the Games after independence in 1962, four were won in athletics and one in Noble art. Hocine Soltani, assassinated in 2002 in Marseille, remains for the moment the only one to have adorned himself with gold, in this discipline. It was in Atlanta in 1996 in the light weight category.

Today, Algeria is looking for a successor to Hocine Soltani. But initially, the Algerian boxers will have to do better than during the last Games in Rio. At the time, the team came home empty-handed and the disillusionment was great. However, everyone was waiting for a feat from Abdelhafid Benchebla, Mohamed Flissi, or Chouiab Bouloudinat so that they would become legendary in Algerian sport in the same way as Hassiba Boulmerka (1500m in Barcelona in 1992) or Taoufik Makhloufi (1500m in London in 2012). We could have won two medals and it didn't work. I think the results weren't that bad. We still talk about the Olympic Games with the best representatives in the world, ”argues Mourad Meziane.

Abdelhafid Benchebla's time

In Tokyo, Abdelhafid Benchebla will experience his fourth participation in the Games after Beijing, London and Rio. Mohamed Flissi and Chouiab Bouloudinat obtained their third qualification after London and Rio. In Brazil in 2016, Abdelhafid Benchebla was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Just like Mohamed Flissi. Chouiab Bouloudinat bowed from the eighth. Abdelhafid Benchebla finished in fifth place each time. He is capable of winning a medal and his longevity proves that he is a very great boxer. Above all, we count on him as on everyone. We need a collective result. If the tournament starts well, there will be a favorable dynamic , "says Mourad Meziane, who aims to at least one medal in Tokyo.

The Algerian team went on a training course to Cuba, the boxing mecca, just before the qualification tournament in Dakar. Today she will accelerate her preparation with other internships and seek sparring partners up to the challenge. Boxing is a popular sport that lacks support, but has always produced results. We will continue the work to come back satisfied with Tokyo ”, concludes Mourad Meziane.

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  • Sports
  • Boxing
  • Algeria
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