Egypt’s women’s table tennis team won gold at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy, on Wednesday, 29 August, defeating the host nation, Italy, 3-0 in the final after eliminating Serbia by the same score in the semifinals, according to Sherif El-Qammati, head of the Egyptian delegation.
Speaking on the Egyptian television program “This Morning,” aired on Extra News, El-Qammati said the team’s performance had been outstanding and helped push Egypt’s overall gold medal count to 10 so far, with several silver medals also secured. He added he expected the delegation to add to that total as competition continues.
He further noted that Egypt is locked in a tight battle for fourth place in the medal standings against France and Spain, even though both countries have fielded larger delegations. Egyptian officials had selected athletes based on criteria meant to ensure each competitor was capable of reaching the podium, rather than simply maximizing the size of the team, he shared.
Egypt has competed at the Mediterranean Games since their inception in 1951, when Alexandria hosted the inaugural edition, and has taken part in nearly every edition since. Over that history, Egyptian athletes have won 620 medals, including 156 gold, ranking the country seventh on the all-time medal table.
At this year’s Games, which run through 3 September in Taranto, Egypt is fielding athletes across 23 sports. Earlier in the competition, the swimmer Abdelrahman Sameh won Egypt’s first gold medal of the Games, taking the men’s 50-meter butterfly in a Games-record time. Egypt has also climbed into the top five of the overall medal table this year, surpassing Spain, France, Croatia and Serbia at one stage of the competition while maintaining the top spot among Arab nations.
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