🇬🇭 Countdown to the African Games in Accra, Ghana, March 8-23
MARDI TO LEAD GAMES TEAM
… Ten boxers to represent Morocco in Accra and Italy
World heavyweight champion Khadija Mardi will lead Morocco’s title defence in the African Games in Accra.
Mardi is among the 10 boxers – five men and five women – selected by The Royal Moroccan Boxing Federation for the Accra Games.
Morocco will also be represented by 10 boxers – seven men and three women – in the World Olympic Qualifiers starting in Italy on February 29.
The Moroccans are the defending African Games champions. They clinched the overall team title at the 2019 African Games at home in Rabat with four gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
Nabil Hilmi, who will manage the Italy team, said Mardi will captain the African Games team.
“Currently they’re all preparing in Istanbul for the African Games and the Olympic Qualifiers,” said Hilmi who also managed Morocco’s successful team which won the Africa Championships last year in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Mardi, one of Morocco’s most decorated boxers, won middleweight gold at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, outpointing Rady Gramane of Mozambique whom she beat again in last year’s Africa Olympic Qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal.
She is the only Rabat 2019 gold medallist in Morocco’s Accra team. Lightweight Abdelhaq Nadir, also a gold medallist in Rabat 2019, is heading to Italy.
Other Rabat 2019 medallists going to Accra are Africa minimumweight champion and bronze medallist in the World Championships Yasmine Mouttaki and welterweight Oumayma Bel Ahbib. Mouttaki won flyweight silver and Oumayma bronze in the welterweight division at the 2019 Games.
Colourful Africa bantamweight champion Widad Bertal is also in the star-studded women’s line-up for Accra. Bertal, Mouttaki and Mardi have already qualified for the Paris Olympics.
Also in the team is 2022 Africa light-middleweight gold medallist Hamza El Barbari.
Morocco’s team for the African Games:
Men
Essaadi Hamza 48kg
Imad Azoui 54kg
Berchami Mehdi 63.5kg
El Barbari Hamza 71kg
ElOuarz Yassine 75kg
Women
Mouttaki Yasmine 50kg
Cheddar Rabab 52kg
Bertal Widad 54kg
Bel Ahbib Oumayma 66kg
Mardi Khadija 81kg
📸 Photo courtesy: Khadija Mardi (right in blue) at the 2016 Rio Olympics
✍🏼 AFBC Communications_