PARIS: Fadi Aldeeb got the competing out of the way early at the Paralympic Games. He’s been using the rest of the time to talk.
The only Paralympian in the Palestinian delegation in Paris, Aldeeb feels he bears special responsibility to represent all Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere. He tries not to think about his own situation.
“I’m their voice. And I want to talk and talk and talk,” the Gaza native told The Associated Press in an interview this week.
The 40-year-old Aldeeb, who uses a wheelchair, was the Palestinian flag bearer during the Games’ opening ceremony, two days before he placed last in the men’s shot put for seated athletes with a season best throw of 8.81 meters.
The winner, world record holder Ruzhdi Ruzhdi, returned to Bulgaria with his gold medal, but Aldeeb has stayed around the Paralympic Village, speaking to media about the desperate situation in his homeland following Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages.
After nearly 11 months of fighting, the war has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who say about half of the dead are women and children. It has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times. It has plunged the besieged territory into a humanitarian catastrophe, including new fears of a polio outbreak.
Aldeeb said he lost his younger brother on Dec. 6 when the building containing the family home in the Gaza City neighborhood of Shijaiyah was bombed and destroyed.
Aldeeb, who besides competing in shot put is a professional wheelchair basketball player, was playing a French league match and only saw afterward he’d received many missed calls from the brother. There was no connection when he tried calling back. Another brother told him the next day he had been killed.
Aldeeb said it made him question why he plays sport. He said the image of his brother comes to him at night and he often wonders what he was trying to say when he called during the league match.
“I received a call from his daughter, she’s like, 7 years old. I never ever can forget this,” Aldeeb said, fighting tears. “She asked me, ‘My uncle, I know he’s died and he goes – Inshallah – to Jannah, but I want his body. I don’t need his body to stay under the building, and the dogs start eating his body.’ Imagine, a child 7 years old, speaking like this.”
Aldeeb said other family members decided to scatter around the Gaza Strip to maximize their chances of survival.
“If they stay together, it’s all too easy that all of this family disappears and is killed,” he said.
Aldeeb said he hasn’t seen his own wife and children for two years because they’re still in Turkiye, where he moved from Gaza in 2016 to play basketball. They can’t get a visa to join him in France, and he says he can’t get a visa to join them in Turkiye without going to Gaza.
“Sometimes, you keep your feelings inside of yourself because you don’t want to show yourself, like, weak or something like that. You want to keep going because you have a big goal. You want to have it, but at the same time when you’re alone, yeah, you’re crying, you’re human,” he said.
Aldeeb said he received his life-changing injury on Oct. 4, 2001. He said he was shot in the back by an Israeli sniper when soldiers responded with bullets after some kids threw stones at an Israeli tank.
The current war is creating many more potential Paralympians, but Aldeeb said all Palestinian athletes face a lack of facilities and equipment – and difficulties leaving.
The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended military rule, and Gaza’s borders have been sealed for months. Even before the war, athletes struggled to leave the territory for international competitions because of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after the Hamas militant group seized power in 2007.
Aldeeb wants to see future Palestinian delegations at Paralympic and Olympic competitions grow.
“We have in Gaza something the world doesn’t have – the type of players, the type of athletes. What they need are just little programs. You cannot imagine what they can do,” Aldeeb said. “I hope they can get this opportunity before they are killed, I hope.”
War at home is taking its toll on the only Palestinian athlete at the Paralympic Games
https://arab.news/9386a
War at home is taking its toll on the only Palestinian athlete at the Paralympic Games
- The only Paralympian in the Palestinian delegation in Paris, Aldeeb feels he bears special responsibility to represent all Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere
- “I’m their voice. And I want to talk and talk and talk,” the Gaza native told AP
New faces lead US women to familiar result: 4-0 win over Ireland
- It was such a young lineup that Biyendolo had almost twice as many appearances (81) as the rest of the starting lineup (41), which represented the fewest combined matches of any USWNT lineup in the past 24 years
- The US will get a much sterner test on Wednesday when they play Canada in Washington, D.C., to complete the three-match window
CINCINNATI: The US women’s national team’s depth was on display Sunday in Cincinnati when the squad’s backups dominated Ireland for a 4-0 victory in a friendly.
US coach Emma Hayes made 11 changes from the lineup that defeated Ireland 4-0 on Thursday and didn’t miss a beat as the Americans won their fourth straight match without allowing a goal. In fact, Ireland did not put a shot on frame.
Izzy Rodriguez, who made her USWNT debut along with Sam Meza, scored in the 42nd minute for a 2-0 lead while Emma Sears played a part in the first three goals. Sears and Rodriguez played together at Ohio State, less than two hours away.
Sandwiching the Rodriguez goal, Lynn Biyendolo opened the scoring in the 11th minute and Yazmeen Ryan extended the lead to 3-0 in the 66th with her first goal. Alyssa Thompson made it 4-0 in the 86th on an assist by Claire Hutton.
The win was the 600th in USWNT history in just 765 matches.
It was such a young lineup that Biyendolo had almost twice as many appearances (81) as the rest of the starting lineup (41), which represented the fewest combined matches of any USWNT lineup in the past 24 years.
It didn’t matter. Sears made a cross to Biyendolo in the middle of the box and she ripped a shot for her 25th goal.
Rodriguez got on the board when Sears took an entry pass from Olivia Moultrie and forced a save by Courtney Brosnan (six saves). The ball came to Rodriguez and she did not hesitate on the rebound.
The role was reversed on the third goal. Sears fed Moultrie and she found an unmarked Ryan.
A minute after Thompson’s goal, hometown favorite Rose Lavelle entered the match to a standing ovation and nearly scored in the ensuing minute.
The US will get a much sterner test on Wednesday when they play Canada in Washington, D.C., to complete the three-match window.
Reed wins four-man playoff to capture first LIV Golf title
- “The biggest thing with relief is to finally win in my home state,” said Reed, who lives near Houston
WASHINGTON: Patrick Reed birdied the first extra hole to win a four-man playoff on Sunday and capture LIV Golf Dallas for his first victory in 41 starts in the Saudi-backed series.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, led by as many as five strokes early in the final round, squandered his advantage, then won on only the third birdie of the day at the 18th hole at Maridoe Golf Club.
“The biggest thing with relief is to finally win in my home state,” said Reed, who lives near Houston. “To finally get that done meant a lot. To get my first win here as part of LIV means so much to me.”
The 34-year-old American won last November’s Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour for his first title since a 2021 PGA victory at Torrey Pines.
Reed, England’s Paul Casey, South African Louis Oosthuizen and Japan’s Jinichiro Kozuma shared the lead after the regulation 54 holes on six-under 282.
Reed opened with a birdie at the first hole, jumped ahead by five after double bogeys by his top rivals, but had five bogeys on the front nine before parring his way through the back nine proved good enough to make a playoff.
“I tried to mess it up,” Reed said. “After making birdie on the first I seemed to leave every putt short. Just kind of putting pretty tentative.”
He missed a birdie putt at 18 in regulation to ensure a playoff.
“Had a good putt there to win on the final hole of regulation, hit a good putt and it doesn’t go in there. Leave it short,” Reed said. “So when I had that down there (to win in the playoff) I thought I left it short too but making a birdie at the last always helps.”
Reed composed himself at the turn after losing the lead to his woeful front side.
“I told myself the putts have to start falling. For the most part I thought I hit the ball fine. I had just a lot of missed putts,” he said.
Kozuma missed a chance for his first victory outside his homeland.
Sharing fifth on 283 were Americans Charles Howell and Harold Varner, England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia qualified for the British Open, taking the spot available to a top-five LIV season player not already in the field for next month’s major showdown at Portrush.
The Crushers, featuring Casey and two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, won the team title.
Kane double fires Bayern into Club World Cup last eight
- Vincent Kompany’s side will now play European champions Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta on Saturday for a place in the last four
MIAMI GARDENS, United States: Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich overcame determined resistance from Flamengo to book their place in the Club World Cup quarter-finals with an entertaining 4-2 victory on Sunday.
Vincent Kompany’s side will now play European champions Paris Saint-Germain in Atlanta on Saturday for a place in the last four.
Flamengo, backed by a huge and passionate following at Hard Rock Stadium, bow out of the tournament despite a performance of real determination from Filipe Luis’s team.
It took just six minutes for Bayern to grab the lead when Joshua Kimmich whipped in a corner and Flamengo defender Erick Pulgar’s header flashed into his own net off the far post.
Four minutes later and Bayern had doubled their advantage. Dayot Upamecano won the ball inside Flamengo’s half and fed Harry Kane whose low shot deflected off Leo Ortiz and rattled into the bottom corner.
The German champions looked like they were going to run away with the game but the three-times Copa Libertadores champions were able to find a foothold in the game.
Luiz Araujo forced Manuel Neuer into action with a dangerous snap shot and then the winger went close again with a shot on the turn which flew just wide of the post.
Flamengo were rewarded for their efforts in the 33rd minute when after the dangerous Araujo played the ball in from the left, the ball fell to Gerson who unleashed a thunderbolt which rocketed past Neuer to bring the bulk of the 60,914 crowd to their feet.
But all that good work from the Rio team was undone four minutes before the break when Araujo’s poor clearance landed straight at the feet of Leon Goretzka who had the time and space to settle himself before, from over 20 yards out, placing his shot into the corner to make it 3-1.
Flamengo came out determined to respond once again and they reduced the deficit again in the 55th minute when Michael Olize handled a cross from Giorgian de Arrascaeta at close range.
It was the kind of tough call that has become normal in the modern game and former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho took advantage of the opportunity with an ice-cool conversion.
But for all Flamengo’s energy, they lacked composure and quality at key moments in the final third — something that could never be said about Bayern.
The contest was finally settled in the 73rd minute when Konrad Laimer won the ball in midfield and fed Kimmich who in turn slipped the ball through to Kane who confidently beat Agustin Rossi with one of his trademark precision and power drives.
Mayar Sherif takes a big swing ahead of Wimbledon
- Egyptian makes bold racket switch to boost her career
LONDON: Switching rackets can be one of the scariest things a tennis player can do, but it can also be incredibly rewarding.
Egyptian player Mayar Sherif is banking on the latter as she took the bold decision to change her equipment from Wilson to Head in an effort to take another step forward in her tennis career.
At No. 86 in the world, Sherif is the second-highest-ranked Arab in professional tennis right now and is one of just two players from the MENA region competing in singles at Wimbledon this fortnight – alongside Tunisian Ons Jabeur.
Two months ago, Sherif was encouraged by her coach, Justo Gonzalez, to test out a new racket that would help her generate more power with less effort.
The racket she’d been using for the past four years was unforgiving – “physically exhausting” is how Sherif put it – and for a clay-court specialist like her, who frequently plays lengthy, gruelling matches on the red dirt, a change felt like the smart way to go. At 29, Sherif also felt that fiddling with her equipment could help extend her career.
So before the tournament in Parma in May, Sherif decided to give a new racket a try. There was one hitch though: she only had one racket to use for her first round because there was no time to get more from the manufacturer.
“I had one racket, and I knew that the racket lasts two hours, and then I’d break the strings. So I went to my first match knowing that if I get into a third set, I probably would have to switch back to my old racket. So this is the mentality I had with my first match,” Sherif told Arab News on Sunday ahead of her Wimbledon opener against Mirra Andreeva on Tuesday.
“I was getting panic attacks in the first set. I couldn't control my heart rate. I couldn't control everything. I've never felt that anxious on a tennis court. And the first set was going 5-all, 6-5, and I was so scared to lose one set, you know? So I won that match, and I won the second, and the other rackets came, and finally I won the tournament.”
After triumphing in Parma, Sherif took some weight off of the new racket, looking to perfect it, and despite briefly losing faith in it, she ended up winning another tournament with it in Biarritz.
Sherif’s game is naturally-suited to clay, but the Egyptian is hoping she can make the necessary adjustments for the grass at Wimbledon, where she is contesting the main draw for a third consecutive season.
She explained that changing her racket is the first step in changing her identity as a player. All 12 of her titles won at the 100, 125 or 250 level, have come on clay.
The goal is to be able to tailor her game to other surfaces, like hard courts and grass.
“That's the first step, to try to play not only clay-court tennis, to try to hit harder, to try so that the ball doesn't pick up that much spin all the time, so that I get some easy power, so that I don't have to generate everything myself. Because my other racket was a bit physically exhausting,” she explained.
“Also serving. Right now, I'm serving so much better than with my other racket. That's something we worked on as well. I'm still at a moment where the racket is not 100 percent a part of me.
“But I'm getting there, and I'm having better feelings.”
Other adjustments she’s been making include working on her slice returns and incorporating more drop shots to her game.
“Changing with a slice. I usually don't change with backhand slice. But hopefully here, I can get some slices in general,” she added.
“Getting fitter and working on my movement, this is something I've worked on in the last couple of months. And I feel much better on court, lighter. Because here (at Wimbledon), if you're not light, if you're not on your feet, you run one time, and you're not going to get back on court. You're not going to get the next ball.”
Sherif’s experience is limited on grass. The former world No. 31 has played a total of just seven tour-level matches on the surface – through main draws and qualifying – and has won just two of those encounters.
She’s been enjoying her time in south-west London though, where she is renting a house with her team that is a short walking distance from the All England Club.
One of her sisters, her mother, and her two aunts, are all in town to see Sherif play, and the whole family – a tennis-addicted family – has been taking in the immaculate surroundings of SW19.
“Everything here is very special, very beautiful. To play on grass is always something special, it's different,” said Sherif.
“So I’m just very happy to be here another time. To be in the top 100 is always rewarding, to play the Grand Slams. Hopefully here I can make a good result and work on my things. It's a tough opening round, but hopefully I can go through it.”
Sherif’s opponent, Andreeva, is ranked No.7 in the world, and is having a phenomenal season so far, that includes WTA 1000 title runs in Dubai and Indian Wells.
The 18-year-old Russian is also playing her third-ever Wimbledon and is 7-5 overall on grass at the pro level. Andreeva reached the fourth round, as a qualifier, on her tournament debut in 2023.
“It's obviously challenging, because she's been doing really good results. She's been playing really well. She's won a couple of big tournaments,” said Sherif of her first-round opponent.
“But to be honest, I'm looking to play now bigger tournaments, play at the higher level. I want to get myself to play at the edge of the high level. So, I'm looking forward to this match and to learn and keep learning week by week.”
PSG rout Messi’s Inter Miami to reach Club World Cup quarters
- PSG will face Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter-finals in Atlanta on Saturday
ATLANTA: Paris Saint-Germain steamrollered Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-0 to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
Miami hoped the Argentine superstar’s magic could help them produce an unlikely result against his former side, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled in Atlanta by Luis Enrique’s rampant European champions.
Ageing great Messi and his former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16 but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare over the 90 minutes.
Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefitted from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target.
After Neves opened the scoring early on Miami resisted until PSG hit three goals in 10 minutes toward the end of the first half.
Messi was the main draw, as fans chanted his name and most of the 66,000 crowd were clad in Miami’s hot pink interspersed with Argentina shirts.
PSG dominated from the start, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia floating into the box and teeing up Bradley Barcola, but Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari thwarted him with an outstretched leg.
However shortly afterwards over-run Miami right-back Marcelo Weigandt fouled Desire Doue and it led to PSG’s opener.
Vitinha whipped a free-kick to the back post where Portuguese midfielder Neves ran in completely unmarked, stooping to nod past Ustari after six minutes.
PSG’s Fabian Ruiz had a goal disallowed for offside before Miami defender Noah Allen limped off injured in a further blow for Javier Mascherano’s side.
With the Ligue 1 champions pressing high and keeping possession Miami found it hard to get Messi involved.
The 38-year-old Argentine superstar played a superbly weighted pass down the right flank for Tadeo Allende but a rare Miami break came to nothing.
Messi’s intermittent interventions were not enough to hold back the Parisian tide.
PSG doubled their lead in the 39th minute when veteran holding midfielder Busquets got his footwork wrong in front of his own box.
Spanish compatriot Ruiz rapidly relieved him of the ball and combined with Barcola to set up Neves to tap home his second.
PSG grabbed their third when Aviles deflected Doue’s cross into his own net, and Hakimi netted the fourth before half-time to put PSG out of sight.
The Morocco international’s first effort was deflected onto the crossbar but he stayed alert at the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium to fire home the rebound.
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi lost his cool with a swipe aimed at Vitinha as the Argentine raged against the midfielder, Miami’s impotence and PSG’s swagger.
Messi produced a brilliant pass for Suarez early in the second half, chipping a ball over the PSG defense, but the Uruguayan could not finish to offer Miami a lifeline.
Despite the impossibility of a comeback — there was to be no comeback like the one Luis Enrique’s Barcelona managed in 2017 against PSG from four goals down in which Messi and Suarez scored — the Argentine was determined to bow out with a bang.
Messi drew a first save from PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma after the hour mark with a low effort.
Luis Enrique sent on winger Ousmane Dembele for his first appearance at the tournament after a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman was rusty and imprecise.
When Suarez was fouled by Lucas Beraldo on the edge of the box Messi had the chance to repeat his free-kick winner against Porto in the group stage, but his effort hit the wall.
It was not to be for Messi or Miami, but their second-half performance was respectable and the defeat was by a lesser margin than the French side’s 5-0 Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan.
PSG will face Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter-finals in Atlanta on Saturday.
