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Rabat – Moroccan wrestler Malak Sabry clinched the gold medal in the women’s 73 kg category at the Arab Wrestling Championship in Jordan following the unexpected withdrawal of her Algerian opponent, Melissa Belaid, in the final match.
Sabry, who had dominated her category leading up to the final, found herself unopposed when Belaid cited an injury and withdrew from the competition.
However, according to converging reports, the real reason behind Belaid’s withdrawal appears to be the fact that the Moroccan team’s uniforms prominently feature a map of Morocco that includes the disputed Western Sahara region.
This design choice has repeatedly provoked objections from Algerian athletes and officials.
The United World Wrestling (UWW), the sport’s global governing body, previously approved the Moroccan Wrestling Federation’s request to include the full map on their uniforms, a decision that has since led to multiple Algerian withdrawals in international competitions featuring Moroccan athletes.
This incident mirrors the jersey controversy that occurred last month, where Algerian team USM Alger refused to play against RS Berkane due to the latter’s jersey featuring the full map of Morocco.
Notably, USM Alger withdrew from both the first and second legs of the African Confederation Cup’s semi-finals.
This resulted in their disqualification and Berkane being declared the winners and qualifying for the final to face Egypt’s Zamalek.
In addition to Sabry’s victory, the Moroccan wrestling team has performed impressively throughout the tournament.
In the men’s under-23 freestyle category, Moroccans Tarik Benhachem and Saad Amandar both secured gold medals.
Benhachem triumphed in the 57 kg category with a close 7-5 victory over Jordan’s Suhib Ramzi Al-Marafi, while Amandar won the 86 kg category by defeating Omar Fawzi Al-Lahham 8-5.
