Hedaya Malak, the Taekwondo medalist bacame the first Egyptian female to hold Egypt’s flag in Olympic games’ opening ceremony. Malak has become one of the best female athletes in Africa & the Arab World. In the Rio 2016 olympics, she succeeded in achieving a Bronze Medal in Rio De Janeiro Olympic Games.
“Trendify” interviewed the world class champion for an exclusive look into her journey through the Olympics, prior to the start of Tokyo 2021 Olympic cycle.
After winning the Bronze Medal in the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics and adding Egypt to the countries aiming to win Olympic medals, with the experience you gained, what is your target this time?
True and genuine experience are from the most vital contributors to success in achieving medals. However, in my third Olympic participation, many external factors affected our training, but my main goals will remain wanting to participate in the world’s largest sports event, achieving a medal, supporting my country and doing my absolute best to reach these goals.
What is the difference between your training for Rio De Janeiro and Tokyo?
The Coronavirus pandemic has definitely affected everything and that resulted in our inability to travel to camps while also being imposed to several restrictions. It was also difficult as many of us had been infected with the virus and that caused a delay in our training schedules for long periods of time.
Before Rio, training conditions were normal. In Egypt, we trained normally and maybe even better than other countries. However, it is now difficult to have our usual camps in Asia, as Egypt usually had camps in Korea. Although, I must admit that the Ministry of Youth and Sports gave us all the support we needed throughout the pandemic struggles in accordance with the safety precautions imposed by the Ministry of Health.
How are you currently preparing for your participation in the Tokyo Olympics?
I am currently in a camp with the Egyptian national team that has been ongoing for a couple of months. We travelled for two championships in Europe about two months ago. Then, we joined a camp with national teams from England, Mexico and Italy last May. In June, we will be participating in the African championship.
How are you overcoming the obstacles resulting from the pandemic and keeping up with your physical fitness and mental health?
I had been in a camp in Serbia with their national team for more than a year, which had helped me greatly in developing my skill level tactically and physically, especially since their coach is one of the best coaches worldwide, as well as the fact that the Serbian team itself had participants who had previously won Olympic medals.
I would also like to thank “Rawabet” company, who helped me greatly during the lockdown period by providing me with a simple gym and the equipment I needed to train by myself.
What do you expect for the other Taekwondo Olympic qualifiers?
Thankfully, all my qualified colleagues are regional and worldwide champions, and I wish us all the best of luck.
Did you compete against one of the other qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics?
Most of the qualifiers competed against each other, as the World Federation’s assortment system requires competitors to participate in championships and maintain their rankings or else they would not qualify for the Olympics.
Who is your favourite Taekwondo player?
I don’t have a specific favourite, but I couldn’t not mention Dr. Amr Khairy, World Champion and previous Olympic Champion, an idol for my generation and the generations before mine as well. I could also say that Mohamed Ali is one of the most inspiring athletes and I consider him an athletic legend not only in Boxing.
On the happy occasion that you win an Olympic Medal, who would you grant this success to?
Honestly, I am currently focusing on the next step, which is the African championship, then the first match in the Olympics and so on. I do not think of the final scene until it happens.
Will the Tokyo Olympics be your last stop before your resignation?
I couldn’t decide this yet as I love Taekwondo and enjoy it, and as I mentioned, I focus on my way step by step.