MALAK Hedaya

General
EYES ON TOKYO
She is targeting gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after winning bronze at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I remember every detail of my semifinal bout [at the 2016 Games], the anger and disappointment of losing through a sudden death. My coach encouraged me by saying, 'Don't worry, you will go home with a medal'. And after winning the bronze I couldn't express anything. I was very happy. I saw how proud everyone was - the Egyptians, my brother, my friends, my coach. I knew I had achieved something big. My brother asked me, 'Do you really want to continue until Tokyo or are you done now?' I said, 'I want a gold, I don't want to finish with bronze'." (cnnindonesia.com, 17 May 2020; olympicchannel.com, 29 Nov 2019)

WEIGHT CATEGORY
Having competed in the -57kg category at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, in 2017 she switched to the -67kg class. "This was accompanied by a lot of effort and even suffering. Naturally, my weight had to increase. I will keep competing in the -67kg category to move up the rankings in this weight class." (ahram.org.eg, 26 Oct 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 14 Sep 2020)

She became the first female Egyptian taekwondo athlete to win a medal at the Olympic Games, when she claimed bronze in the -57kg category at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (ONS, 18 Aug 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 14 Sep 2020)