Waseem Abu Sal: First Palestinian Boxer to Compete at the Olympics
Palestine’s Waseem Abu Sal is to become the first athlete of the nation to compete in the Olympic Games, having accepted a wildcard invitation to the forthcoming event in Paris. The 20-year-old has wished to be on a stage, dancing for people for the last ten years. He stated that every day, he retired to bed and woke up with thoughts of how he could qualify for the Olympics.
Still, the general anticipation does not cloud the fact that Abu Sal’s preparations for Paris are far from perfect. Daily, new training instructions come through his phone from his Cairo-based trainer, Ahmad Harara, who cannot come to the Athlit training ground in the occupied West Bank owing to COVID-19 restrictions. “I only meet him when I am traveling for a competition to another country,” Abu Sal, chairing a gym in Ramallah, told me. He even writes down my training for the day, though I train in the morning and the evening with my trainer, Nader Jayousi.
Palestine Olympic Committee membership has been in the International Olympic Committee since 1995, even if officially Palestine is not a state. Since 1992, Palestine has participated in the Olympics with 26 athletes. So far, four Palestinians are confirmed for the Paris Games: Abu Sal, Fares Badawi in judo, shooting Jorge Antoni Salhe and taekwondo Omar Ismail.
Abu Sal will start competing at the ongoing Olympics on Thursday in the men’s featherweight (57kgs), where he will face his trainer, Harara. Harara has been monitoring Abu Sal’s training via telephone “owing to occupation barriers between the West Bank and Gaza. ” While Abu Sal did not progress through the Olympic qualifying, she got a wildcard, so all nations are represented.
Being in the West Bank, where the Israeli army operates many security checkpoints, poses some difficulties for Abu Sal. He has to frequently challenge himself against more massive and heavier fighters because there are no other people his size to spar with. ”Due to this, it becomes difficult to arrange tournaments, meaning there are always limited competitions in the country he pointed out. ” Also, visa acquisition when competing in international events is complex, leading to time-wasting and forfeits.
Abu Sal will drive from Ramallah to Amman when he departs for Paris in July, as with all international tournaments. Abu Sal receives orders from Nader Jayousi, head of the Palestinian Olympic delegation and a trainer to several fighters from his Ramallah gym. “It makes me proud not only for myself but for Palestine as, for the first time in history Palestinian boxer will be participating in the Olympic games,” commented Jayousi.
Participating in the Olympics while the war in Gaza is still on has not been an easy task. Barely two months into the hostilities, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on the 7th of October, the death toll has been high. Gaza’s health ministry is saying that primarily civilians have been killed responding to Israel’s offensive, leading to at least 37,718 deaths. There are cases where the victims were athletes or their relatives, disturbing the mental state of Abu Sal and his colleagues. Jayousi said this significantly impacted the preparation of their boxers because almost every day, they were receiving information about more athletes they were losing.
It is noted that the movement between cities of West Bank has become more risky given the strengthened security measures such as the checkpoints and the military cordons as well as settlers’ attacks. Palestinian officials say that at least 553 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army or by settlers occupying the areas of the West Bank, which are internationally considered Israeli settlements, since October 7.
The attempts of Waseem Abu Sal, who got through terrible battles to the Olympics, are also proof of Palestinian strength, which all the athletes have to overcome to get to the Olympics.
