4 Facts You Didn’t Know About Egypt’s Olympic Beach Volleyball Women’s Team
Bazaar Arabia shares everything you need to know about the talented duo that will be representing their country at the Paris Olympics 2024
Egypt is set to take beach volleyball by storm as Marwa Abdelhady and Doaa Elghobashy prepare to compete against Italy and Spain in the coming days. The pair are known for their impressive track record within the sports, having recently won gold at the 2023 African Games in Accra, Ghana, but it’s the fact that they refuse be swayed by pressures to conform that make them a truly inspiration pair.
Historically, women’s beach volleyball players wear swimwear when competing – however, both Marwa and Doaa will be donning their hijabs while playing at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Just days ago Team France announced it would ban its competing members from wearing the hijab during the games.
“I have worn the hijab for 10 years. It doesn’t keep me away from the things I love to do, and beach volleyball is one of them,” Doaa told British newspaper The Independent back in 2016.
In the lead up to their game today, Bazaar Arabia shares a few little-known facts about these inspirational athletes here.
4 Facts You Didn’t Know About Egypt’s Olympic Beach Volleyball Women’s Team
Doaa’s Previous Olympic Impact
When Doaa made her debut in the games in Rio 2016 at the tender age of 19, she (along with her partner at the time) became the first Arab and Egyptian athletes to compete in women’s beach volleyball at the Olympics. Though she was on track to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 games, Doaa unfortunately had to sit them out when a fellow competitor on the men’s beach volleyball team contracted Covid.
A dynamic pair
Doaa has returned to make history with her new teammate, Marwa, who is making her Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 games.
The power of friendship
Marwa and Doaa are close friends on and off the sandy courts – and its their friendship that Doaa believes makes for a strong foundation for the team, helping them perform to the best of their abilities at the Olympics.
“We are friends away from volleyball, which really helps us understand each other on the court. Being in sync is the most important thing, because it’s just the two of us on the court, we need to be able to communicate just by looking at each other, without talking,” she told The National in a recent interview.
Unmatched chemistry
This is not the first time they’ve been teamed up together. Marwa and Doaa have played numerous matches of beach volleyball together before reaching the Olympic Games, achieving significant success each time.
Being teammates first at the Al Ahly Sporting Club, then at El Shams club, their consistent victories truly highlight their remarkable chemistry.
Lead Image courtesy of Instagram/@doaaelghobashy