Marbella's Ayoub fights his way to historic Olympic final

Despite the home crowd fervently supporting his French opponent on Wednesday, Marbella's Ayoub Ghadfa managed to claim a spot in the Olympic final. In the first two rounds the Spaniard's superiority was clear, with the judges recognising this almost unanimously. In the third, spurred on by the crowd, Aboudou landed some important blows, although his attacks were somewhat confused. Ayoub knew that if he removed himself mentally from the atmosphere in the stadium, the win would be his - and so it was. He won uncontested, 5-0, even though in the third round it was Ayoub who scored more points. On 10 August, at 10.51pm, Ayoub will fight Uzbekistan's Jalolov for Olympic gold.

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Ayoub will be able to boast having won his medal on the Phillipe-Chatrier court at Roland-Garros, which has been transformed into a boxing ring for the Olympics. The Andalusian has performed exceptionally well throughout the games, with a first victory against Kazakhstan's Kunkabayev, who was a bronze medallist in Tokyo, followed by an uncontested triumph over Armenia's Chaloyan. It has been 24 years since a Spanish boxer has reached the Olympic podium, with Ayoub breaking this spell.

Until moving to Madrid for university, Ayoub Ghadfa could never have imagined he would end up winning an Olympic medal. Born in Marbella in 1998 to Moroccan parents, he was, like so many boxers are, bullied at school. After deciding he had to learn to defend himself, he took up kickboxing. "If I hadn't started kickboxing, I wouldn't be boxing," he told SUR. Ayoud took a liking to the sport and even thought of turning professional, but his parents wanted him to continue studying. His goal was therefore to enrol in a Sport Sciences degree at the University of Granada, but he just missed the required entry mark. A disappointment at the time, this ended up leading him to where he is today, a soon-to-be Olympic medallist in Paris.

Ayoub went to study in Madrid instead, and enrolled in a gym there to continue kickboxing. That decision would change his life. He caught the eye of veteran trainer José Valenciano, who suggested he try boxing. Then, national coach Rafa Lozano stumbled upon him, impressed by his skills and potential. There are not many promising boxers at Ayoub's weight - over 92 kilos - in Spain, and so he offered to train him. There was a lot to learn, but Ayoub took the challenge in his stride. Last year, he won bronze at the World Championships, and has now earned himself the chance to fight for gold at the Paris Olympics. Ayoub has already made history by being the first Malaga native to compete in Olympic boxing, and the first Spanish boxer to reach an Olympic final in the super heavyweight category.