Egyptian beach volleyball players caught the eyes of the world on their Olympic debut during the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Nada and Doaa Elghobashy shocked the whole world during their first match in beach volleyball in the 2016 Rio Olympics as the duo was fully dressed -in long sleeves covering both arms and legs. Also, Elghobashy was wearing a hijab that covers her head.
Their first match was against Germany's Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst. Both of the German players sported the usual bikini attire for beach volleyball. A photo showing Elghobashy and Walkenhorst going head-to-head on the net went viral on social media. This made a strong statement for the women athletes from her predominantly Muslim country, First Post reported.
There was never been an Egyptian delegation for beach volleyball, even for men.
This is the first time ever that Egypt has a beach volleyball contender in the Olympic Games and it is already a mark in the world history.
When Doaa Elghobashy was asked about the hijab that covered her head, she said that it does not keep her away from doing the things she loved, including, beach volleyball. She also said that she have worn the hijab for 10 years.
Egypt v Germany, Beach Volleyball.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) August 8, 2016
This is why we do the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/DT19Zm5ube
Both Nada Meawad and Doaa Elghobashy qualified through the Summer Olympic Games through a regional competition which is designed to include athletes other than the Americans, the Europeans, and the Brazilians in the Olympic Games.
The Egyptians were beneficiaries of the relaxed uniform regulation created by the international volleyball federation before the Olympic Games in London. This is to include all other cultures that might be turned off by the standard volleyball uniforms especially the bikinis.
The goal was to allow more people to play the volleyball sport, so the rule was to open up the sport culturally, according to FIVB spokesman Richard Baker. During the Continental Cup qualifying process, there were 169 different countries that qualified for the Rio Olympics compared to the previous 143 for the London Olympics, Hindustan Times reported.
