Egypt grabs two Olympic spots as African title showdown beckons

Sunday’s showdown finals at the 2023 African Archery Championships were expected to be a furious battle for individual Olympic place – but, in the end, they’ve already been decided.

Archers from only two countries are competing in each of the individual final fours.

With a maximum of one slot per nation on offer, the nations that will take the places, if not the athletes that win them, are set.

Egypt’s archers are guaranteed two quota places – one man and one woman – for Paris 2024, with Tunisia on course to receive a recurve women’s ticket, and South Africa a slot in the recurve men’s tournament at the next Games.

So we just qualified to the Olympics. We just got quota spots for men and women,” said Sherif Mohamed, one of the three Egyptian men in a final four completed by Werner Potgieter of South Africa.

“It was a little bit tricky [today], but in the end we got the good results. It was a bit more pressure, but in the end it makes it more sweet. It feels better at the end, like the tighter it gets and then you win, it feels much better.”

“Tomorrow we are shooting for gold, and we’ll see if we can get a full house.” 

At 45-year-old, Potgieter is competing in his first international events in 2023.

“I‘ve got mixed emotions,” he said. “There‘s a lot going on now. It's still a bit surreal that I made it through. I came here with one goal, and to achieve it, it’s a feeling that I don't think I can explain.”

His only previous experience on the world stage came at the Hyundai Archery World Cup season opener in Antalya, where he lost his first match to finish 65th.

“You go through those ups and downs, you start flowing, there’s a rhythm, and then something happens and the rhythm gets broken – and that’s where mental discipline comes in. I guess years of just mentally focusing and training yourself to bounce back,” he said.

“I mean, the Olympics for me isn’t the end, it’s the beginning. I want to keep doing archery until the day I can’t pull a bow anymore!”

Potgeier will face Bahaaeldin Aly in his semifinal. Mohamed draws teammate and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Youssof Tolba.

Both recurve women’s semifinals see a Tunisian archer face an Egyptian athlete; Rihab Elwalid (Tunisia) and Rana Kamel (Egypt) in the first, Roua Ben Abdelkader (Tunisia) and Jana Ali (Egypt) in the second.

Although the individual Olympic places are decided – the mixed team slots are not.

Chad and Cote d’Ivoire will compete to decide which nation sends a pair to Paris as African Champion titles are awarded on the final day of competition on Sunday in Nabeul.