El Shehaby won five World Cup medals, and competitions in Abu Dhabi 2009, Düsseldorf 2010, Moscow 2010, Qingdao 2010, and Baku 2011.

[1] Following controversy regarding his refusal to shake the hand of Israeli judoka Or Sasson, who defeated him at the 2016 Summer Olympics, El Shehaby retired in August 2016.

)[7] El Shehaby competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he was thrown twice by and lost to Israeli judoka Or Sasson, who later won a bronze medal in this competition.

[2][5][9] After his defeat, El Shehaby lay flat on his back for a moment before standing to take his place before Sasson, in front of the referee.

[12] The Egyptian Olympic Committee stated that El Shehaby was alerted before the match to abide by all the rules and have sporting spirit.

[9][14][15] It is unclear what potential punishment El Shehaby or Egyptian judo as a whole could face, but his hopes of medaling were dashed regardless due to Sasson's decisive performance in the quarterfinals.