Day 12: Athletics competitions may be last chance for Maghreb medals

20/08/2008

Further eliminations in boxing and taekwondo mean that Maghreb hopes for more medals are pinned to the region's fleet-footed runners.

Mona Yahia in Tunis, Mawassi Lahcen in Casablanca and Nazim Fethi in Algiers contributed to this report – 20/08/08

[Mawassi Lahcen] Moroccan taekwondo champ Ghizlane Toudali lost 0-5 to Iran's Sara Khosh-Jamal on Wednesday. As the end of the Games nears, Maghreb medals hopes are focused on the athletics competitions.

Tunisian boxer Walid Chérif was eliminated from the -51kg category on Wednesday after losing 5-7 by points to Italy's Vincenzo Picardi. Chérif told reporters afterwards that tactical calculations had defined the match, due to the similar skill level of the two boxers and each boxer's knowledge of the other's strong points.

Ultimately, Chérif said, the match was resolved by small details in the final round. He defeated Picardi during the 2005 Mediterranean Games, and said he would have repeated that performance, were it not for several decisions by the referees.

In taekwondo, Morocco's Ghizlane Toudali lost 0-5to Iran's Sara Khosh-Jamal.

In Wednesday's athletics competitions, all three Moroccans runners in the 5000m race—Anis Selmouni, Mourad Marofit and Abdelaziz el Idrissi Ennaji—were eliminated, as they were unable to produce the same burst of speed as their competitors in the final stretch.

Algeria's Ali Saidi-Sief also failed to qualify after coming in second to last in his group. Saidi-Sief's loss followed a silver medal performance in the same event at the Sydney Games in 2000 and a two-year suspension for doping at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton.

Saidi-Sief's compatriots Nadjim Manseur and Nabil Madi both pulled off qualifications to the semi-finals of the men's 800m event after achieving times of 1:45.62 and 1:45.75, respectively. Morocco's Yacine Bensaghir and Muhssin Chehibi were eliminated, but their fellow countryman Amine Laalou managed to qualify after taking first place in Heat 6. Laalou faces a tough semi-final race on Thursday against Kenya's Wilfred Bungei, the US's Nick Symmonds and Cuba's Yeimer Lopez.

In the women's 1500m race, Algeria's Nahida Touhami is still in the running and, according to specialist Mahour Bacha, could create a surprise in the semi-finals.