The Egyptian national boxing team has been preparing to the upcoming 12th Arab Games under the careful supervision of their experienced Cuban Head Coach Julio Lee Hechevarria. With competitors in each weight class they will be targeting at least two gold medals. With a strong pedigree in the sport since securing one silver and two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games, the North African country will look to impress in Doha.
Look out for 18-year-old Youth Olympic Games bronze medallist and AIBA Youth World Championships bronze medallist Hesham Yehya Mahmoud Abdelaal from Mansourah who hopes to go all the way. He is the youngest member of the travelling team and their most promising star.
Mohamed Ramadan Eliwa is the current Arab Games titleholder and the vastly experienced campaigner, a veteran of three AIBA World Championships, will be gunning for gold when the competition gets under way. Just as another defending champion, 26-year-old Hossam Hussein Bakr Abdin will be looking to overcome his big rival Mehdi Khalsi from Morocco in the Welterweight category.
The team will be led by captain Mohamed Abdelmaghoud Abouelfetouh Hikal, the experienced 32-year-old AIBA World Championships bronze medallist and three-time Olympian. With Karem Said El-Ghannam competing in the Heavyweight division and Super Heavyweight Madian Essa Kassem also present, the nation will be expectant of success.
The Qatari boxing team will be hoping home support can spur them onto success. With a good season under their belt, having competed in several international tournaments such as the Arabic Championships, the Belgrade Winner Tournament in Serbia, the China Open Tournament, the World Military Games and the 16th AIBA World Boxing Championships, they have high hopes in Doha.
Asian Games bronze medallist 30-year-old Hzam Nabah will be looking to do damage in the Middleweight category, having already showcased his devastating power when triumphing over Romania's AIBA World Championships bronze medallist Bogdan Juratoni at the Hakija Turajlic Memorial Tournament in Sarajevo.
Top Bantamweight, 30-year-old Mohamed Abdullateef Sadiq will be looking to add the only trophy missing from his collection of Arab Championship medals since joining his national squad in 2002.
Lightweight Othman Jumani Arbabi, a soldier in the Qatari Army and veteran of three Military World Championships, claimed a silver medal at the Doha International Challenge in October and will now look to go one step further. Pan Arab Military Games silver medallist 27-year-old Mohamed Abdulrahman Al-Toum will be fighting in the Light Welterweight category and having reached the semi-finals at the last edition of the Arab Games, will hope to surpass his previous achievements and triumph on home-soil.
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