Wrestling with their limitations
In a small hall, huge dreams are forged, as young girls from a low-income Egyptian neighborhood vie for Olympic glory
"If you have 1,000 athletes for example, you pick the best 10 to sponsor, as they represent Egypt," said Ibrahim Moustafa, secretary-general of the Egyptian Wrestling Federation.
"The club itself has to finance equipment and training for the other players," he added.
This is what makes clubs like al-Shal seem miraculous.
"Limited resources, immense achievements," said coach Mahmoud al-Wafaa'i, who is unpaid and trains the girls out of self-professed love for the sport.
"The hall is only 3.5 by 3.5 meters ... practically impossible to create one champion in. Yet we produce champions."
Al-Shal is emblematic of broader structural problems across Egypt. CAPMAS data show that in many governorates, government-run clubs employ far more administrative staff than trainers.
Still, al-Shal's Rodaina Ahmed Gamal, 15, a national gold medalist who has qualified for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympics, says she prefers training there than at other larger clubs she can access.
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