Eastern Wayne Today

Wayne State University fencer Mahmoud Elsayed recently participated in the Bahrain Junior World Cup, held from January 17 to 19 at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Bahrain. Elsayed, a freshman from Tanta, Gharbia, Egypt, represented both himself and Team Egypt in the epee category.

In individual competition, Elsayed achieved a perfect 6-0 record during pool play with a +12 touch differential (29-17). Despite receiving a bye in the table of 128, he was narrowly defeated by Nikita Gorin of Egypt with a score of 15-14. This result placed him 34th out of 148 competitors.

During team events, Egypt entered as the top seed and advanced past Kyrgyzstan in the Table of 16 with a score of 45-40. Elsayed contributed significantly by securing 20 touches across three bouts. In the Table of Eight against Uzbekistan, Egypt emerged victorious with a scoreline of 39-33, where Elsayed again played a crucial role by achieving an +8 touch differential (21-13).

The Egyptian team reached the semi-finals but was edged out by France with a close score of 44-43. Elsayed maintained his strong performance with a positive touch differential (+5), tying his first bout and winning his last two bouts.

Looking ahead, Wayne State University's men's and women's fencing teams are set to compete at the DeCicco Duals hosted by the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.