Algerian press thrilled with Benikhlef's silver medal

14/08/2008

Algerian judoka Amar Benikhlef won a silver medal on Wednesday—the second for his country at the Beijing Olympics. The win has created widespread excitement and affirmed the strength of Algeria's judo programme.

By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 14/08/08

[Getty Images] Algeria's Amar Benikhlef (left) won the silver in the -90-kg men's judo competition on Wednesday. He shares the podium with Georgia's Irakli Tsirekidze (centre) and Egypt's Hesham Mesbah.

Algerian judoka Amar Benikhlef rose above his Olympic competitors, clinching the silver medal in the -90kg category on Wednesday (August 13th). The performance sent the Algerian press into a frenzy, celebrating the country's second medal as part of the trend begun by judo bronze medalist Soraya Haddad.

Through Benikhlef's silver medal win, "Algeria has restored the honour of Arab sport", El Khabar said. Aside from Haddad and Benikhlef, the only other Arab to win a medal at the games so far is Egypt's Hicham Mesbah.

"Without making a fuss, this son of [the Algiers suburb of] Bourouba forged his way to the final, pushing aside internationally renowned judokas," Liberté wrote.

"Despite his defeat in the final, there was immense joy in the Algerian camp, particularly among the Algerian judo family, which has earned itself a place in Olympic history. After Soraya Haddad’s bronze medal, it was Amar Benikhlef’s turn to do better, offering Algeria its second medal – a silver – in these planetary-level bouts."

"It is incredible to think what has happened to this young Algerian (born on 11 January 1982), who left for the Chinese capital with plenty of hope, but without any titles apart from two won on the African continent," the daily newspaper l’Expression wrote.

"Last year, in the All-Africa Games organised by Algeria, Amar settled for a silver. On the world level, he had a clean slate. Who would even have thought of betting a single centime on this impressive 26-year-old, 1.86-m, 90-kg athlete when he arrived with the rest of the team?" the paper asked.

Several Algerian newspapers admitted that they had not expected Benikhlef's success.

El Khabar said the Algerian judoka "caused great surprise by winning the silver medal" because "although still in the junior category, [Benikhlef] was able to stand up to the top competitors."

The daily paper Le Temps continued the theme, writing, "Amar Benikhlef won this silver medal in the middleweight class to general surprise, in a very tough competition where all the greats were present...No one really expected Benikhlef to pull off such an achievement."

Benikhlef himself disagreed, telling Echourouk: "My victory was no surprise, but the fruit of my labours."

L’Expression took a hard line with Benikhlef, insisting that if the athlete "had believed more in his chances, the Algerian would have been able to get to the top of the podium".

"With one shido, or warning, Amar Benikhlef let his dream pass him by: the dream of being the first Algerian Olympic champion in the Beijing games, and the first in the whole history of Algerian judo," the paper added.

La Tribune, however, commented that Benikhlef "was happy with his silver medal, no African ever having achieved such a result in the technically demanding sport of judo."

Indeed, the judoka's narrow loss to Georgia's Irakli Tsirekidze has not in any way diminished his spirits, he told Echourouk. Although he missed the gold, Benikhlef promised his compatriots he would win more medals in other international events.