The “impossible” preparation of Wassim Abou Sal, first Palestinian boxer to qualify for the Games

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The 20-year-old athlete competes in the lightweight category. In a context of war and occupation, training from the West Bank has become complicated.

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Palestinian boxer Wassim Abu Sal at a training hall in Ramallah, West Bank, on June 22, 2024. (ZAIN JAAFAR / AFP)

For the first time, there will be a Palestinian boxer at the Olympics. Wassim Abou Sal, 20, is one of seven athletes from his country competing in Paris. With the war between Israel and Hamas, as well as the occupation in the West Bank, his training conditions are very complicated. Wassim Abou Sal is taking one punch after another on his training bag. He looks confident, but the preparation has been very complicated.

For months, his trainer Ahmad Harrara has been giving him instructions remotely from Egypt. “I am from Gaza and Israel prohibits Gazans from entering the West Bankemphasizes the coach, on the other end of the phone. Unless there is a compelling reason, such as medical care. At the moment, I am in Egypt and I hope to obtain a visa to join Wassim in France. This situation is absurd.But as Palestinians, we are condemned to endure these difficulties.”

“I prefer to tell myself that this situation strengthens Wassim’s will and determination, so that he can win an Olympic title.”

Ahmad Harrara, Wassim Abou Sal’s trainer

to franceinfo

Wassim Abou Sal competes in lightweight, but because of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, he cannot fight boxers in his weight class. “I weigh 57 kg. To improve, I need to train regularly against opponents of my level, details the Palestinian athlete. For that, you have to be able to go to Jerusalem, Jenin or Gaza. But because of the checkpoints and Israeli restrictions it is difficult, if not impossible, to move. I went to Jerusalem once in my life, I was a child.”

To go to France, the boxer was unable to take a plane from Ben Gurion Airport, 50 kilometers inside Israeli territory. But he left from Amman, Jordan, more than two hours away, not counting the waiting time at the border and checkpoints.


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