Egyptians pin Olympic hopes on fencing star
Egypt's celebrated fencer Alaaeldin Abouelkassem is determined to return home from Rio de Janeiro with another Olympic medal.
![Egypt's Abouelkassem celebrates defeating South Korea's Choi during their men's individual foil semifinal fencing match at the ExCel venue at the London 2012 Olympic Games Egypt's Alaaeldin Abouelkassem celebrates defeating South Korea's Choi Byungchul during their men's individual foil semifinal fencing match at the ExCel venue at the London 2012 Olympic Games July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS SPORT FENCING) - RTR35RLX](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2016/08/RTR35RLX.jpg/RTR35RLX.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=KGzXQQBi)
Four years after winning the silver medal in the men’s foil event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, 25-year-old Egyptian fencer Alaaeldin Abouelkassem is in Rio de Janeiro heading his country’s fencing team at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games scheduled to take place there Aug. 5-21. The first Egyptian, Arab and African competitor to win an Olympic fencing medal, Abouelkassem is determined to repeat his earlier triumph, vowing to return home with another, "hopefully gold."
Despite suffering a shoulder injury, Abouelkassem captured the gold in the men’s individual and team foil events at the 11th African Games in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, in 2015 after having earlier won a bronze medal at the Mediterranean Games in Turkey in 2013. The left-handed foil fencer, seeded ninth globally, also clinched the silver at the men's foil Grand Prix earlier this year in Havana, Cuba.