For every athlete, the time comes to think about the end of their career as a player. Some retire from playing altogether, some retire from the demands of both a national team and club career, while some retire from one format of the sport to concentrate on another – the process can be immediate or over time.

IHF.info catches up with four beach handball legends from four continents who have retired from their national teams over the past 12 months to hear about their careers, when they knew it was time to retire, overcoming adversity and a lot more. 

For part four we speak to Qatar’s Mohamed Zaky. Born in Alexandria, Egypt and now living in Cairo, the 42-year-old retired last year from the Qatar men’s national team, representing them for the last time at the 2024 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship in China.

 

Playing career

The first time I saw beach handball was back in 2002 at a small games event in Alexandria, in my home country, Egypt. I was already a professional handball player indoors at that time. It was about a year later that I started training and playing beach handball, in 2003, at a small tournament in Alexandria for the club team ‘Olympic’ and my first game was against a local club team called ‘Bakous’.

I remember thinking to myself; ‘this is fantastic, phenomenal’, it was outstanding for me, I was astounded with it.

The majority of my indoor career saw me play always a left back but I ended it as a centre back in both indoor and beach handball.

With my indoor club career I played for Olympic Club right through from being a kid up to the first team until I moved to Qatar in 2012. Our best achievement was finishing as runners-up in the Egyptian League and Egyptian Cup in 2007 and then Arab Cup in 2008.

On the international indoor level, my highlight was playing for Egypt at the 2005 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in Hungary. Our team was full of star players, including Ahmed Elahmar at right back and line player Mohamed Ibrahim Ramadan, who is now assistant coach at Al Ahly with David Davis. We played against players like Luc Abalo and Cedric Sorhaindo for France, Rene Toft Hansen for Denmark and Spain’s victor Tomas.

In 2011 the revolution happened in Egypt and the sport situation was not good so I ended up moving to Qatar, mainly because of my love for beach handball. At that time, the Egyptian federation wasn’t supporting beach handball that much and I could not see any possibilities for further achievement.

When I moved to Qatar it was a very hard decision for me because I left my family, my paid job at Egyptair and going into the unknown, but the passion eventually paid off throughout my time there with the support of my family.

I played for a number of different indoor clubs in Qatar up until 2022, one of the highlights being winning the Emir Cup and finishing as runners-up in the Qatar League. With the men’s national beach handball team we were very successful, winning four Asian championships in a row, world championship and The World Games medals and my whole handball career all the way along has been a dream, but my greatest achievement – my all-time highlight – was to be nominated in one of the three men’s and three women’s All-star Teams for the ‘IHF Beach Handball Showcase’ held at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games last year.

 

Retirement

I retired from the Qatar national team after the 2024 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship in China and my last-ever game was as part of the Paris 2024 IHF Beach Handball Showcase event in France.

I had been playing this game since 2003 and I felt it was time to retire because I had reached the top of my career – the top of the mountain. I thought it was the highest rank I could make.

Also, you are talking about 20 or more years in the game so it was time to give the torch to the new generation.

Before my decision I talked with Khaled Aly, the Qatar men’s national team head coach. He was unhappy at first but he also saw that Paris 2024 was the perfect ending for me and I could move into coaching. I also talked with my wife Aliaa and we discussed it with my three daughters Habiba (13 years old), Laila (13) and Khadija (10) and my son, Saleh (5) – the ‘young champ’ as I call him.

My retirement was not all my own decision; it was a bit pushed by destiny and signs were there for me to quit. My home town (indoor) team with whom I was ending my career with went down to the first division and I could also feel that the Qatar Handball Association wanted to move on from the experienced players and were looking to a new generation.

But it was still very difficult for me.

Since retiring I miss every little detail about it. Everything about it, particular I miss seeing all the beach handball family and friends I made across the world, over more than two decades.

Back then I was not digesting the decision well and, to be honest, I am still not now, but as I am now coaching, I am still performing a little bit with my young team, which helps – but I am done now here in Egypt although I still play indoor handball, in the +40 years ‘Masters’ category though.

 

Overcoming adversity

Thank God I had no major injuries during my career, only minor ones. However, in 2016, just eight days before the IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship in Budapest, Hungary, I had a minor meniscus tear in my knee – that was the most ‘major’ injury I had. I could not play at the event, but attended anyway, assisting my coach and we won bronze together. I had surgery later that year, in December

The lowest point in my career was that period in 2011 when everything stopped in Egypt because of the revolution. This was a very hard time for me.

Aliaa is the assistant coach of the Egyptian national women’s basketball team as well as assistant coach for the Al Ahly basketball team too and is the one person in the past few years who has really inspired and pushed me to continue playing as much as I could – I retired when I was 40.

Personal memories and future goals

Beach handball: she gave me everything. She gave me a career and she gave me a big family all around the world. The sand pushes you to limit that you have never pushed yourself into. The sand is harder than the indoor surface and it gives you the opportunity to push more than you do indoors.

Beach handball is my passion and passion gives you things you have never imagined that you can find in yourself. When you're passionate about something, you figure out and create things. In the sport you're creating plays. You're doing things. You are seeing everything around you as a way to solve your problems in beach handball.

I compare it to how the Chinese can live their life through kung fu – everything is kung fu. In my parallel universe I treat everything around me as a beach handball.

My own, personal awards and achievements are strong memories, but the overriding feeling is the big beach handball family I have joined. All of those I have played with and against, the coaches, referees, officials, fans – everyone. I love each and every one of them.

I have kept all my medals and awards and they are all safely in my dad’s home, along with around five or so shirts – the one I love the most is from the Paris 2024 All-star Team members. They knew I was retiring and all signed it for me.

 

Gil (Pires – Brazilian player), Bruno (Oliveira – Brazilian player) and Ebiye (Jeremy – USA player) recently, because he's the youngest among us, we have all known each other a long time and we are family – we still hello to each other every special occasion in life. 

Anytime you can ask anyone for anything. You can find them anywhere, anytime. We treat each other like a family, because we have known each other and been competing each other since 2005, 2006 until now; we're talking about 20 years. 

There are so many people to thank – my coaches, my teammates in both Egypt and Qatar and my family and kids. Most of all I’d like to applaud all the people who didn’t believe in me. Thank you so much. Without your words I was not going to be that much but you were my fuel all the way through these years of playing.

I do have many funny stories but I can’t remember any right now although I do remember meeting some famous faces.

In Rio, back in 2006 for the IHF Beach Handball World Championship I did meet the famous footballers Romario and Eric Cantona. At the next world championship in Cadiz, in 2008 I then also met the basketball player Pau Gasol and the tennis player Rafa Nadal. And it was a real privilege when we played at home for the 2019 ANOC World Beach Games that I met Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the brother of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Throughout my career the biggest changes in the sport have been the rule changes, but I wouldn’t change anything right now for the future – I would just keep it as it is. I am looking forward to watching the current young talents grow together because it will bring back all the good memories to me.

After finishing in Qatar I became assistant coach for Heliopolis Club in the Egyptian professional league, but, right now, I am in Cairo coaching the Al Ahly U17 indoor team  - the number one team here in Egypt. We will have around seven players likely to play at the upcoming IHF Men’s U17 World Championship in Morocco.

I finished the IHF D Coaching License course last year and this summer I just finished the IHF C Coaching License in Egypt.

What I am really enjoying in coaching is how fabulous it can be to influence and change the career of the players. From being normal to being mentally strong, to be physically capable of making new moves in and out of the court. The responsibility is not in the change, but comes in how you can figure out the way to change it from a child to an adults. 

How the players see you and listen to you more than their parents in some cases is a real heavy responsibility and one we have to respect and be capable of dealing with.

Currently, I am not involved in beach – well, not just yet. For sure, beach handball is my passion so who knows what the future holds; maybe I can be the head coach of the Egyptian national team one day?

 

Advice

The advice I would give is to remember it is just a game. Try to not to love the game too much because it can really be heartbreaking. Even after retiring I am still holding back my tears and holding my frustration inside.

The advice I would give myself just starting out would be just to do the same thing and go on the same path again. I would say to myself; ‘you were right in your decisions’, but I would also say; ‘don’t let the fear control you’.

Overall though, my advice to anyone is that there is no failure in sport, there are only winners or learners.

Follow Mohamed on Instagram @mzaky84

Mohamed Zaky – Handball career

National Teams
2002: Egypt men’s national indoor youth team
2003: Egypt men’s national indoor junior team 
2006-2010: Egypt men’s national beach handball team
2013-2024: Qatar men’s national beach handball team

Club teams
1992-2013: Olympic Club, Egypt
2007: Zamalek Club, Egypt
2013-2016: Arabic SC, Qatar
2016-2018: Al Wakra SC, Qatar
2019: Al Khor SC, Qatar
2020: Qatar Club, Qatar
2021: Al Sadd SC, Qatar
2022: Al Rayan SC, Qatar
2023: Zohour Club, Egypt
2023-2024: Olympic Club, Egypt

Awards/titles

Indoor
2002: Gold – Egyptian Youth Cup
2003: Gold – African Youth Championships (Egypt national team)
2007: Silver – Egyptian Pro League
2007: Silver – Egyptian Cup
2008: Silver – Arab Cup
2017: Gold – Emir Cup (Qatar)
2017: Silver – Qatar League

Beach
2008: MVP, All-star Team IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship 
2008: Best Specialist, All-star Team IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship 
2013: Gold – AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championship
2014: Gold – Asian Beach Games
2014: Bronze – IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship 
2015: Gold – AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championship
2016: Bronze – IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship 
2016: Gold – Asian Beach Games
2017: Gold – AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championship
2017: Bronze – IWGA The World Games
2019: Gold – AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championship
2019: MVP, All-star Team ANOC World Beach Games
2019: Best Specialist, All-star Team ANOC World Beach Games
2022: Silver – AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championship
2023: Silver – IWGA The World Games
2023: MVP, All-star Team IWGA The World Games
2023: Best Specialist, All-star Team IWGA The World Games
2023: Gold – AHF Men’s Asian Beach Handball Championship
2024: All-star Team player – 2024 Paris IHF Beach Handball Showcase