On the table of sporting options, archery was thus not the obvious choice, especially given Egypt’s own rich history as a country in equestrian sport, which dates back to a deep-rooted heritage with the animal. Modern pentathlon – which for decades had horse riding as one of its disciplines before it was swapped for obstacle recently – is another sport in which Egypt excels and which also includes swimming, again one of Ezzeldin’s greatest strengths as a youngster.
Therefore, a career in horse riding offered him something at which he was already good at, with far more guarantees in terms of recognition, and was much more embedded in Egyptian sporting culture than archery.
For Ezzeldin, however, the constant search for the perfect shot, the mental concentration required for every arrow went beyond simply winning and eventually extended beyond horse riding as a whole.
“Something I’m particularly proud of is that, during my first seven years in archery, I never won a medal or even came close to standing on the podium.”
“But I never gave up because I genuinely loved the sport itself. Eventually, all that patience and hard work paid off, and I finally reached the podium.”
“I haven’t looked back since. Now, I’m hoping to take another step forward and hopefully find myself on the Youth Olympic podium here in Dakar.”
That decision to stay with archery, even when the results were not forthcoming at first, is a defining feature of his ongoing tale.
Since he made his international debut last season at the European Cup – where he set an African under-18 ranking round record of 621, which he broke again at the Oran 2026 African Archery Championships with a score of 650 – Ezzeldin has garnered three gold and two silver medals at the last two African Championships [Abidjan 2025 and Oran] in the youth category.
