boxer

Somali president welcomes boxer Ramla Ali, casting sports as a bridge to a hopeful future MOGADISHU — In a carefully staged encounter that mixed ceremony with symbolism, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday welcomed Ramla Ali — the Somali-born, UK-raised boxer who made history as the first Somali to compete in the Olympics — to the presidential palace in Mogadishu. The meeting was brief but pointed: Ali received a certificate of honor from the presidency and words of praise that turned an individual sporting…

Abdelhafid Benchabla was beaten in the round of 16 of the boxing tournament at the Olympic Games on July 27 by the Russian Muslim Gadzhimagomedov. For the 34-year-old Algerian, who also participated in the Olympics in 2008, 2012 and 2016, it is the end of the adventure in Tokyo 2021. From our special correspondent in…