The first African to win the World Boxing Championship, Morocco’s Khadija Mardi failed to qualify for the semi-finals in the under 75 kg category in Paris. The boxer expressed her immense disappointment at having missed this last step which could have offered Morocco its first medal in these Paris Games.
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From our special correspondent at Arena Nord,
She was a mother on a mission who promised her three children, Ilham, Sultana and Fatima Zahra “to bring them back” the gold medal “But this Sunday, August 4, Khadija Mardi was stopped in her quest by a tough Australian, Caitlin Parker, who beat her by a split decision from the judges.
A defeat that devastated the Moroccan, inconsolable after her fight. “I am sorry for the Moroccan people and for the King for not having been able to bring back this medal. I ask forgiveness from my husband, my father, my mother, my family”she says, sobbing.
More than 20 kg lost…
This medal was the ultimate quest of the child from Casablanca, world middleweight champion in 2023 in New Delhi. For this Olympic medal, Khadija Mardi, quarter-finalist at the Rio Olympics, sacrificed herself and lost more than 20 kg to go down to the under 75 kg category. This weight loss will have played a big part in her defeat, she assures. It handicapped me, I made a lot of efforts to get below 75 kg, and it tired me out a lot.. But this is not an excuse, I have not lived up to the Moroccan people and the Arab people. “.
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Encouraged by hundreds of Moroccan supporters present at the Arena Nord in Villepinte, Khadija Mardi also had the honour of counting among her supporters two Olympic champions from the Cherifian kingdom: Hicham El Guerroudj, 1,500m and 5,000m in Athens (2004) and Nawal El Moutawakil, 400m hurdles in Los Angeles (1984).
Khadija Tuesday, ” She is an exceptional woman. She is a fighter, a tornadotestified the first Moroccan gold medalist at the Olympic Games. She is a mother, she is a wife, but she is also an extraordinary champion. She represents the Moroccan woman, the Arab woman, the African woman, the Muslim woman. »
Now, the 33-year-old boxer, who has buried her dreams of an Olympic medal, will focus on the next world championships in Astana, Kazakhstan at the end of the year. This will be an opportunity to win a new world crown and definitively turn the unfortunate page on Paris.
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