Morocco’s senior men boxing team came second at at the 4th Arab Junior Boxing Championships between February 11-14 in Cairo, Egypt.
Egypt came in first place with three gold and five silver medals, while Algeria ranked third with three golds and five bronze medals.
The Moroccan team won three gold and three silver medals. Abdesamad Abadou won one of the gold medals in 52 kilograms, after defeating Egyptian Omar Khaled 3-2 in the final.
Morocco was represented at this event by boxers Hamza Rkibi in the 49 kilograms (Kg) category, Mohamed Abid in 56 Kg, Zouheir Khayraoui in 64 Kg, Yassine Ouzar in 69 Kg, Mohsine Houran in 75 Kg, Driss Ghroumi in 60 Kg, and Mohamed Abou Hamda in 81 Kg.
Rkibi, Abed, Khayraoui, Ouzar, and Houran qualified for the finals of the competition. Mohamed Abou Hamda was eliminated in the semi-finals. He settled for the bronze medal. Ghroumi left the championship from the first round.
In addition to the three medal winners, Yemen, Tunisia, Iraq, Libya, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, and the UAE took part in the championship.
The Moroccan national boxing team (seniors) is currently taking part in the Strandja Cup held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The Moroccan boxers are competing in the 5-day event in Bulgaria, February 12-19, in preparation for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the African Games to be held in Morocco in August, and the World Boxing Championships to be held in Russia in September.
Last month was eventful for Morocco’s boxing scene. A number of newcomers experienced morale-boosting victories on the internationale scene, whereas two of the most revered names ran into troubles.
Boxers Zakaria Tijarti and Nordine Oubaali won a Full Muay Thai World Champion and the the WBC World Bantamweight title, respectively.
Meanwhile, world-renowned kickboxer Badr Hari tested positive in an anti-doping test, while boxer Mohamed Rabii was sentenced to a one month suspended prison sentence for adultery.
–moroccoworldnews.com
