2019 African Games: Egypt's boxers looking to upstage hosts Morocco

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Now we head to Morocco for the 12th edition of the African Games, where the host nation's boxers hopes to claim the biggest medal haul. But Egypt's fighters have been training hard for this event as well, in anticipation of upstaging the homeside, and punching their way to the top of the podium. CGTN's Adel EL Mahrouky has the details.

Egypt's boxing champion, Abdel Rahman Orabi unleashes his might, putting out all power he has within. Last April he won the gold medal in the Mediterranean Games, making him one of the strongest contenders for the 81 kilogram category in the African Games.

ABDEL RAHMAN ORABI EGYPT LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOXER "Competition in boxing in Africa is becoming fierce. Many nations are resorting to the expertise of Cuba and Russia, which has raised the standards of the sport."

Showers of sweat pours out of exhaustion, yet Orabi never loses his fun spirit. He knows well the Moroccan and African boxers who are going to challenge his gold medal in Rabat, this year. He's not concerned about them though. All of this clear dedication to the training is aimed for a bigger dream he has.

ABDEL RAHMAN ORABI GOLD MEDAL CONTENDER "I was not fortunate in Brazil. Tokyo is my personal dream. I've learned a lot from my mistakes. I've worked on my weak points. I had good results in recent years. I played in the WSB. I've gained huge experience."

Orabi is not the only medal hopeful boxer in the Egyptian team. Egypt is usually among the continents best three players in at least four weight categories.

MOHAMED HEIKAL EGYPT WELTERWEIGHT BOXER "The African Games are usually very hard. Still, it's one of the main events where boxing lifts the Egyptian flag above most nations. The preparations are intense. We used to get a 2½-hours training sessions. Now they're down to 90 minutes a session, but the intensity of the training is much more hectic."

In 2015, Egypt's boxing team has failed to win any gold medals. This team, however, appears to be confident that Rabat would be different. Adel EL Mahrouky, CGTN, Cairo.