MADINAH, 14 April 2005 — He has traveled to many countries for competitions against several of the world’s best but for Egyptian karate gold medalist Ibrahim Salem the experience at the 1st Islamic Solidarity Games is truly special.
Apart from being able to display his skills, Salem, winner in the under 70 kg. category, cited the bonding he has had with fellow Muslim brothers during the games.
“I think that the 1st Islamic Solidarity Games is a good opportunity for many Muslim countries to meet in one place in a short period of time. It is a perfect chance for Muslim countries from African and Asian continents to meet and exchange experience ,” Salem told Arab News in an interview.
“Of course, this also gives us the chance to meet and bond with our Muslim brothers around the world. For me, this is really an experience to remember,” Salem added.
“Thank God that I won the gold medal in front of the Azerbaijani player. I am very proud that I honored my country with this gold medal,” Salem said.
Salem’s credentials are rock-solid so that there was little surprise when his name was announced as winner of the gold medal and Egyptian national anthem played during the medal ceremony. He is a gold medalist in both the African Games, Arab Games and a silver medalist in the Mediterranean Games. Up next in his itinerary is the next world championship in Mexico.
Talking about karate in the Kingdom, Salem said: “I am very much impressed at the performance of Saudi karate players. This game really made tremendous strides in the Kingdom the past few years when the sport federation started to pay more attention to it. I was also very much impressed with the performance of the Iranian team and I am sure that this is not the end of winning gold medals for these two countries.”
At the end of the interview, he thanked the Kingdom for hosting this important event and said: “I had visited many countries around the world to participate in competitions. I am very much happy for the first Islamic Games because it is united us. In my opinion, the staging of these games succeeded big time. These games will remain in my memory forever.
“I wish these games are held in the Kingdom every year so we would have the chance to meet with our Muslim brethren and to be able to visit the two Holy Mosques. I am very happy that I am in the Kingdom now, especially in Madinah. I thank the organizers and Saudi Arabia for having us and for their kind hospitality.”
