Paris Olympics 2024: First Egyptian woman boxer at Games out without throwing a punch

Youmna Ayyad had been due to fight heavily fancied Uzbek Nigina Uktamova, but weighed in almost a kilogram too heavy and was disqualified.

Published : Jul 28, 2024 11:51 IST , PARIS - 1 MIN READ

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: Youmna Ayyad weighed in almost a kilogram too heavy and was disqualified. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Egypt’s first ever female boxer to qualify for the Olympics exited the Games without throwing a punch on Saturday when she failed to make the weight for the 54kg contest.

Youmna Ayyad had been due to fight heavily fancied Uzbek Nigina Uktamova, but weighed in almost a kilogram too heavy and was disqualified.

The Egyptian Olympic Committee said it was launching an immediate investigation into the disqualification.

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“Youmna was scheduled to compete in the 54 kg category, and she gave her weight to federation officials at midnight before the bout and it was OK,” a furious EOC treasurer and national boxing federation chief Mohamed Abdel Aziz Ghoneim told Reuters.

“In the morning when she underwent the official weigh-in she was 900 grams over her weight and was disqualified.

Youmna, 21, was not immediately available for comment.