By: Laila Esmat

All eyes naturally turn to Ali Hatem whenever the word “athlete” is mentioned around his circle of friends, because of his outstanding achievements and dedication to his sport.  

Hatem is now proudly representing Egypt on an international level with a strong world ranking and has just won a silver medal in the Egyptian University Sports Federation (EUSF) fencing.  

The 18-year-old professional fencer, who is on the Egyptian national fencing team, is a business student at ESLSCA University.  

“For me, fencing is more than just a sport, it’s a passion, a discipline, and a way of life,” said Hatem.  

He grew up doing gymnastics for most of his childhood, but had to quit due to the COVID-19 pandemic because of the lockdown. That is when he wanted to try something new, so he started fencing right after.  

“I felt like it was a nice game, I loved its strategy, and I also have a priority in succeeding in this sport because I’m flexible and fast paced due to gymnastics,” said Hatem.  

Hatem discovered fencing through the recommendation of a friend’s father.  

“I didn’t even know it existed before he introduced it to me, and I thought that it was going to be very boring, but when I tried it, I completely changed my mind,” explained Hatem. 

Hatem has achieved many milestones in his fencing career. He won a lot of national medals and competed against some of the toughest fencers in Egypt.  

“At just 16 years old, I was close to reaching the top 8 and becoming one of the top 4 senior fencers in the country. This was a big accomplishment for me at such a young age,” he said.  

His first international tournament was in Germany in 2021 where he was ranked among the top 200, and ever since, he started going around the world to places like Tunisia where he was placed among the top 50 in the Junior World Cup and played versus a French fencer who was ranked number one at the time, and was leading by two points with a score of 15-13.  

“Despite it being my first Junior world Cup, and only my second international championship, my performance caught the attention of many, and the results proved that I compete at a high level against one of the best in the world,” explained Hatem.    

However, he went through many different challenges and difficulties to reach how far he is gotten. He broke his arm three times in a row, and the doctors told him that it was impossible to compete ever again.   

“I believe that nothing is impossible, so I went and challenged myself, took it step by step, and started training more, until I got to a place where I could compete, and I did,” said Hatem. 

His mindset and belief are that success comes to those who are willing to put in the work, and he tries to live by that every day by training relentlessly and pushing himself consistently. 

He trains five to six times a week, including strength and fitness training, however, he doesn’t have a fixed schedule to balance his studies with fencing.  

“I just set priorities to what’s more important at the moment,” he said.  

Hatem is very passionate, serious, and is fully committed to reaching his goal of the Olympics, which is the highest level of competition in the sport.  

 “I understand that qualifying for the LA 2028 Olympics will be very hard, especially since I haven’t participated in any international competitions this season. However, I am training harder than ever, working with a private fitness coach, and putting in triple the effort compared to previous seasons which is really hard as I try to not also affect my studies,” explained Hatem.  

Hatem also mentioned that he sees a great opportunity ahead, as many of the senior fencers, including Ziad El Sissy, are close to retirement, which opens more doors for him to qualify for the Olympics and represent Egypt on the world stage.  

But the Olympics is not all, his main goal for the next season is to qualify for both the African Championship and the World Championship.  

“I have a strong opportunity to make it, as I expect to rank among the top four. I believe I have an edge over my competition this coming season, and I’m fully focused on achieving this goal,” he said.  

“Every time I step onto the piste, I carry the pride of my country, the lessons from my training, and the determination to be the best version of myself.”  

Beyond his personal ambitions, Hatem wants to be a source of motivation for the next generation by inspiring younger fencers and showing them that with discipline and belief in themselves, they can achieve anything.   

“I believe that nothing is impossible, and every challenge is an opportunity to grow stronger, both physically and mentally,” explained Hatem. 

The young man has unstoppable dreams, passions, and motivations that he wants to share with people like him.