The military sports delegation returned to Tunisia this Sunday after an honorable participation in the 2nd African Military Games, organized in Abuja (Nigeria) from November 18 to 30. The Tunisian selection finished its participation in 6th place among 20 countries, with a tally of 33 medals including 5 gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze.
Upon his arrival at the L’Aouina military base, the head of the Tunisian delegation, Colonel Mohamed Hédi Boukotaya, declared to the TAP agency that “Tunisian military athletes have succeeded, despite their reduced number (29 athletes), to achieve great performances and to raise the national flag high during these Games, winning 33 medals in 5 disciplines: shooting, taekwondo, judo, boxing and wrestling.”
He added that the technical level of the Games was “high, due to the great development experienced by military sport in Africa”, stressing that the competition was intense, with the presence of world champions in various disciplines, as well as the commitment of the host country to provide all the necessary conditions to ensure the success of the event.
Colonel Boukotaya specified that these Games were an opportunity to discover many promising young national talents, particularly those who are part of the military and national selections. Regarding the future of military sports competitions, he indicated that “the main objective remains to win titles and get on the podium”. He added that the preparation of athletes will continue for the next events, in particular the military world championships of taekwondo and judo in Germany in 2025, as well as the third edition of the African Military Games in Ethiopia in 2027.
For his part, Elyès Tlili, the taekwondo player who gave Tunisia its first gold medal in Abuja, declared that “achieving this performance was not easy, due to the strong competition and the evolution of the African level in this discipline, as well as the reputation of Tunisian taekwondo after the Olympic exploits, which pushed our opponents to redouble their efforts to confront us.”
The judoka, Master Sergeant Abdelaziz Ben Ammar, who won the gold medal in the 90 kg category, stressed that “shining at the Abuja Military Games has a special meaning, because this medal rewarded the efforts made facing strong competition, given that most African judokas train in Europe and have considerable resources, in addition to the progress made by African judo in recent years.”
Wrestler Raslène Zitoun, double silver medalist in freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling, said that “getting on the podium during the African Games was the result of a great effort, especially since the competition was strong and all participating countries showed a high level and prepared well for this event. However, the results are positive, because Tunisia participated with the smallest delegation and managed, despite this, to obtain a large number of medals.”
Anis Jebali, coach and member of the Tunisian rifle shooting selection, was delighted with the success of the shooting team, which won medals of different colors despite the reduced number of Tunisian participants in this discipline. He added that Tunisian shooters faced strong competition from countries like Nigeria and Algeria, whose athletes are accustomed to using different types of weapons.
Finally, shooter Ghada Ouaeri, the only woman in the Tunisian delegation to the Abuja Games and bronze medalist in the collective Kalashnikov shooting event, declared that “the tough competition I encountered did not prevent me, thanks to the experience acquired and my adaptation to the conditions of the competition, to achieve a good performance, to get on the podium and to confirm the success of Tunisian shooting, with 13 medals obtained during this edition.”
