From February 20-29, Dakar hosted the first of five Tokyo Olympic 2020 qualifying events for the African Nations. A total of 33 places – 22 for men, 11 for women – were up for grabs for the summer Tokyo Olympics. After 9 exciting and exhilarating days for spectators and African boxers at the Dakar Arena, a total of 33 boxers have been confirmed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics 202. Among them are Algeria with seven qualifiers, Cameroon and Zambia with three each, and Morocco with six.
For Morocco, the roster of Boxers includes Oumaya Belahbib, Rabab Cheddar, and Khadija Mardi for the women’s category; Nadir Abdelhaq, Mohamed Assaghir, and Youness Baala for men’s.
In interviews with the Olympic Channel several of the Moroccan boxers reflected on how they prepared for the qualifiers and what drives them to success:
Khadija Mardi (Casablanca, Morocco): “My win here is a statement that the door has been opened for African women, especially Moroccan women. I want them to know that the road to the Olympics is possible for them.”
Mohamed Assaghir (Morocco): “I was unable to eat for the last four days, thinking about this fight and if I could qualify. It’s been 2 months since I ate cake, I had to keep my form as I knew were coming for tough combats, you know Africans are explosive and tough. The first round I was studying my opponent and then in the second and third round I just showed what I have got and why I deserve to be here and go to Tokyo.”
Rabab Cheddar (Morocco): “This has been my ultimate dream. Back at home, I trained hard and during these days I converted all that sweat and hard training to punches. I started boxing just as leisure to stay fit but gradually I realized that this is a sport that can take me to great heights.”
For boxers who did not qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics through Dakar, there will be one final chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in Paris this May.