KEHLI Zohra Nora

Personal Information

Residence Bagnolet, FRA

Occupation Athlete, Councillor, Student

Languages English, French

Higher education History - Sorbonne University: Paris, FRA

License number 17012001006

Club

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Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? She took up fencing at age five at the CA de Montreuil club in France. She began competing at age 10.

Why this sport? "My uncle introduced my brother and me to fencing. At the time, CA de Montreuil had organised an open day. That's how I discovered the sport. Like all fencers, I started with foil to get the basics. At one point, I had to choose because I was competing with the French squad. I was competing in foil and sabre, and it was very difficult to juggle the two, so I chose sabre even if I thought that I was a little stronger in foil."

Club / Team Christian Bauer Academy: Orléans, FRA

Name of coach Christian Bauer [club]; Ouassila Yemmi [national], ALG

Training Regime "I train from 09:00 to 15:00, five days a week."

Handedness Left

General Interest

Memorable sporting achievement Winning two gold medals at the 2022 African Championships in Casablanca, Morocco. (sorbonne-universite.fr, 02 Jun 2023)

Injuries In 2022 and 2023 she was affected by patellar tendinopathy. (Instagram profile, 05 Sep 2023)

Sporting philosophy / motto "In fencing you have to know how to manage yourself, control your stress and above all manage to surpass yourself. In competition, it is sometimes difficult to hold it all together. The mind is such an important factor." (planetesport.dz, 08 Mar 2020)

Ambitions To win a medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (sorbonne-universite.fr, 02 Jun 2023)

Other information REPRESENTING ALGERIA
Born in Paris, France, she chose to begin representing Algeria in 2018. "It's a choice that followed my heart. I'm proud of it. I tell myself that I can do something for my country of origin. It's a different way of showing that you can be Algerian without being born there. My parents were a little afraid for me. We didn't really know how it was going to happen. I made the decision on my own. I told my parents that if I wanted to start playing in the big leagues, now was the time." (dzairworld.com, 15 Aug 2020; fie.org, 09 Nov 2018)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In June 2020 she was elected as a municipal councillor in Bagnolet, France, with the responsibility of early childhood. "I found that we did not see enough young people running for municipal elections, and I said to myself, 'Why not me?' I was campaigning to promote fencing in working class neighbourhoods and I found myself involved in a political campaign where I was elected. This mandate, which runs until 2026, is a very rewarding experience. Early childhood is not only about the opening of places in nurseries, it is also related to many projects with other delegations such as disability and sport." (Bagnolet en Commun Instagram profile, 11 Apr 2024; sorbonne-universite.fr, 02 Jun 2023; Instagram profile, 08 Oct 2022)