Paris (dpa)
Tunisian champion Fares Ferjani, who won the silver medal in the men’s sabre competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics, spoke about the backstage of his historic achievement and his journey towards standing on the podium at the Olympic Games. Ferjani was awarded the first Arab medal at the Paris Olympics, after winning the silver medal in the fencing competition, following his 11/15 loss to South Korea’s Oh Sanguk on Saturday.
Al-Farjani held a press conference in the French capital, Paris, where he said, “I started playing fencing thanks to my father, mother and brothers, all of whom practiced this game. Fencing for me was a fun thing and I loved it very much. After a short time, I started dreaming of achieving accomplishments in it. It was an honor for me to represent my country in international forums.”
He explained, “I participated in the Youth Olympics in China 10 years ago and came in fourth place, which gave me a morale boost to continue my career in the game. Then, I participated in the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Games, but I bid farewell to both competitions early.”
The Tunisian champion said, “After I lost in the Tokyo Olympics, I discovered that it was a useful defeat for me, as it pushed me to improve myself, and I felt that after maturity, age and experience, I finally achieved my dream in Paris.”
“I went to the United States in 2017 to train under an American coach who advised me to go there to study and learn the basics of fencing better,” he continued. “I started learning fencing techniques and things I didn’t know about the game before, which took me many years. I listened carefully to everything and tried to learn. I started to progress and learn the basics of the game and felt that I could go far.”
He revealed, “The coach was like a father to me, and in 2023 I felt that I was able to achieve my dream and reached the 16th place in the world, after I started to give up rushing and thinking about the results because it is the biggest mistake any fencer makes, because that quickly leads any player to make a mistake.”
“Fencing is a sport of concentration and I have to be mentally present first,” Farjani stressed. “I want to play in the 2028 Olympics and win more medals.” Asked about the difficulties faced by Tunisian fencers, Farjani said, “We suffer from problems with not transferring foreign currency abroad, which causes obstacles because we buy training equipment from abroad and there are foreign coaches whose dues must be transferred, which we cannot do in Tunisia.”
“I was lucky to have my brothers abroad who were paying the fees but I didn’t think about these details too much. I always think about the positive things to move forward,” he added. “I have a trainer who helped me a lot to improve my concentration. On the day of the match I was well prepared. I lived my life normally and enjoyed the day and the game and didn’t think about winning too much.”
Regarding his expectations upon his return to Tunisia, Ferjani said, “I will return there on Wednesday, but the reception will definitely be great.” He stressed, “I am very proud of myself. We athletes work every day to achieve a dream that only a few can achieve. I am proud to honor all Arabs and Africa. It is an indescribable feeling.”
“I hope that young Tunisians and Arabs will practice fencing. We have proven our ability to win in this sport, although it is not very popular in our country. Some Arab athletes have achieved world titles,” he added. “Some people from Tunisia spoke to me and told me that they were keen to watch my matches in cafes, which is unusual. They were asking why I jumped in matches, which reflects their interest in me.”
Al-Farjani concluded his speech by saying, “We have an excellent generation of Tunisian athletes, such as Ahmed Hafnaoui in swimming and Khalil Jendoubi in taekwondo, and I hope to see more Olympic medals.”
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