Western Wayne Today

Wayne State University freshman fencer Salma Abdrabou recently competed at the Junior & Cadet Fencing World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event took place at the King Saud University Sports Arena and marked her second international appearance of 2024.

Abdrabou had previously secured a victory at the Junior Women's Epee during the Junior & Cadet African Zonal Championships in Cairo, Egypt, on March 5. Her performance in Riyadh began with a flawless 6-0 record in pool action for the individual round on Monday, earning her a ninth seed for the elimination table.

In the elimination rounds, Abdrabou achieved two victories: she defeated Australia's Imogen Rice with a score of 15-4 in the Round of 128 and overcame Venezuela's Victoria Guerrero Hidalgo with a close 15-14 win in the Round of 64. However, her run ended in the Round of 32 after losing to Uzbekistan's Dilnaz Murzataeva by a score of 15-10. Murzataeva advanced to the quarterfinals before being narrowly defeated by France's Oceane Francillonne, who went on to win the Junior Women's Epee event.

Overall, Abdrabou finished with an impressive record of 8-1 and placed 20th out of 169 competitors. On Wednesday, April 17, she joined Team Egypt for the team competition. She contributed significantly by adding touches towards Egypt's scores against Bulgaria and Italy. Despite Egypt's mixed results—a victory over Bulgaria followed by a loss to Italy—Abdrabou helped secure a respectable team placement of 16th out of 33 countries.

Wayne State is currently in its offseason following their participation in this year's NCAA Fencing Championships held from March 21 to March 24 in Columbus, Ohio.