Mourad Assem, head of Al Ahly’s karate staff, expressed his happiness after Giana Farouk, Al Ahly’s karateka, won the bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Farouk, became the first Egyptian, Arab, and African female player to achieve a medal in karate at the Olympics in her first-ever participation in the competition.

Farouk won the bronze medal at her first-ever participation in the Women’s Kumite 61 kg event after losing 1-1 to China's Yin Xiaoyan in the semifinals of the competition. Out of the five judges that determined the result, three favored Xiaoyan, while only two voted for Farouk.

In an exclusive interview with Al Ahly’s Media Department, Assem reflected on the encounter and spoke about the magnitude of such an achievement.

“I would like to congratulate Giana on winning the bronze medal even though I believe that she deserved a place in the final; however, the majority of the judges gave their votes to Xiaoyan.”

“We have a lot of great players in karate and we were able to win many tournaments in the past. Finally, we are currently working to develop the sport as we believe there is still room for improvement.”

On a similar note, as a result of Farouk's achievement, Egypt's Olympic Committee chose Al Ahly's karateka to bear the nation's flag in the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.