Palestinian boxer overcame the serious fighting

Associated Press

Transcribed from the clipping

“Boxer Monir Abukeshek has little in the way of equipment or sparring partners at his home in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank. ‘Just the bag and my brothers,’ the 27-year-old light-heavyweight said.

But today he will fight in the semifinals of the Asian Games, where he is guaranteed a medal — making him the Palestinians’ first medalist in the games. He said his training has been interrupted by fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinians at home, which he left five weeks before his first child was born to prepare for the Asian Games.

Abukeshek — who has seen only photographs of his son, Yazen, since he was born Aug. 18 — said he hopes to win gold. ‘If I win the medal, I will put it around my son’s neck,’ he said.”

Context added by this archive

Monir Abukeshek, 27, trains in a refugee camp with just the bag and my brothers, and is about to become the first Palestinian to win a medal at the Asian Games. He left home five weeks before his first child was born. He has seen his son Yazen only in photographs. What he intends to do with the medal is the last line:

‘If I win the medal, I will put it around my son’s neck.’

Cite this item

"Palestinian boxer overcame the serious fighting," The Courier-Journal, 11 October 2002. Covering Palestine archive, CP-2002-031. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-2002-031