Judo wrestler Soraya Haddad Algiers – Hussein Boussalah Algerian women\'s judo wrestling champion Soraya Haddad has said she wishes to repeat her historic bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics by winning a gold at the 2012 Games. Before she left for London, this year\'s Olympics host city, the Algerian star spoke about how she intended to \"represent Algeria with honour\".
\"I am fit fit thanks to my preparations for the past four years...I last trained in France, which helped both physically and morally, especially after a series of injuries I had suffered earlier due to my intense training sessions...I took a break for several months after that,\" she said at a press conference.
Haddad also spoke about how her coach impacted her preparations for the Olympics: \"He is the reason I achieved such high levels of fitness, he\'s now the technical director of the Qatar Judo federation...I am happy that he was my coach before the Games.\"
She also confessed she was tense and a little stressed as July 29, the day of her event, drew closer.
\"I\'m not worried about who I will be facing against (to be picked by a draw), as I respect all my competitors, who are extremely accomplished,\" she added.
Haddad is the first Arab-African woman to win Olympic medals.
\"I\'m ready to sacrifice everything to raise Algeria\'s flag high in the skies of London, and paint a smile back on the faces of the Algerian people,\" she said.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Algerian Football Federation, Mohamed Raouraoua, is now present in the British capital, London, to attend the Olympics opening ceremony this Friday upon the invitation of the organising committee of the Olympic games, where 39 Algerian atheletes will be representing Algeria.