Amjad Muheisen from Gaza has finally fulfilled his dream of playing squash, which he has been watching for years on television only.
Muheisen, 30, joined the newly opened first squash club in the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli siege since mid-2007, enabling him to pursue his hobby again after a lapse of more than seven years since he arrived in Gaza to attend university.
Muheisen says he has been playing squash since he was 13 years old thanks to his training with his father, who was a professional and famous in the UAE where he lived.
He added that he expects to develop his skills in the game of squash after three years of continuous training, noting that he was scheduled to join Arab and international competitions to be the successor to his father, "squash champion", after passing a training course in the UAE.
However, Muheisen could not fulfill his dream of participating in Arab and international competitions, as he had to travel to Jordan and then to Gaza to complete his university studies and stopped practicing them completely.
He points out that he was content with watching the game on television, and every time he wished he could play it again, which was finally achieved so that he practiced it 3 days a week.
The game of squash requires a high physical fitness in addition to the strength of concentration, as well as a healthy diet so that the players do not feel tired or fatigue.
The most important routines that must be maintained by the players of this sport is to sleep early and to stick to healthy food schedules at certain times and stay away from ready-made foods, and get rid of excess weights so that their bodies are highly fit through which they can compete in the Arab and international level.
Muheisen hopes to participate in international competitions after being able to compete in them, stressing that he would be proud to carry the name of Palestine in this sport specifically for its quality and strangeness to the Palestinian society.
Amjad´s father, Jamal Muhaisen, has been playing squash as a hobby for more than 42 years, having lived in the UAE for decades.
Muheisen was a chemical engineer in the extraction of gas and oil, and used his vacation time to join the world of athletes in various types, including tennis, basketball and squash.
It emphasizes the importance of sport and the education of children from the age of 10 years, in order to prepare a professional cadre sports and the people of Gaza in the midst of Arab and international competition.
"The youth of Gaza are energetic and fit for the requirements of this game in particular, but need the possibilities and support in the world of sports specifically," he said, stressing that the main treasure of the Palestinian people is that they are young people.
Muheisen expressed his hope that local clubs in Gaza will be able to build squash courts, noting that they are inexpensive and will have local and regional resonance if the sector invests in its youth in sports and many talents that can be invested to show the beautiful picture of the sector.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) report released earlier this month, Palestinian society is young, with a high percentage of young people, while the percentage of older persons is low.
According to the report, on the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons, which falls on the first of October each year, the percentage of the elderly in the Palestinian society (60 years) and more is 257151 individuals, or about 5% of the total population in the middle of this year.
According to the report, despite the expected increase in the number of elderly people in Palestine in the coming years, the proportion will remain low and steady, which will not exceed 5% during the years of the current decade, to begin to rise after the middle of the next decade.
It was the local club Champion, who opened two squash courts to be the first of its kind in the sector, especially in the absence of adequate infrastructure for the sport.
The club´s executive director, Rami al-Khodari, said that he has worked to spread the sport in Gaza to "be a prelude to deeper into it and to join several Arab and international clubs through our partnership with them in the establishment of a team from Gaza in them."
Al-Khudari adds that they aim at raising the name of Palestine in international forums and working to enhance the capabilities of the players to be able to represent Palestine and raise their country´s flag in international forums.
Al-Khudari noted that they are seeking to promote the culture of sport in general, and bring in various exotic sports that were not experienced by the residents of the Strip, and they opened the first sports academy for cancer patients and badminton.
