Egypt’s first-ever female boxer to qualify for the Olympics, Youmna Ayyad, exited the Games without throwing a punch on Saturday. Ayyad was disqualified from the 54kg contest after failing to make weight. She was scheduled to fight the heavily favored Uzbek Nigina Uktamova.
Ayyad weighed in almost a kilogram too heavy, leading to her disqualification. The Egyptian Olympic Committee (EOC) immediately announced an investigation into the incident.
“Youmna was scheduled to compete in the 54 kg category, and she gave her weight to federation officials at midnight before the bout and it was OK,” a furious EOC treasurer and national boxing federation chief Mohamed Abdel Aziz Ghoneim told Reuters. “In the morning when she underwent the official weigh-in she was 900 grams over her weight and was disqualified.”
The 21-year-old Ayyad was not immediately available for comment.
