The path to his dream remained incomplete. After setting his sights on participating in the Paris Olympics, the recent Israeli aggression turned everything upside down.

From winning medals and Asian championships to displacement tents, this is how the life of Abdullah bin Mahmoud Al-Ghalban, the Palestinian boxer who shone brightly in Asian rings, was overturned before the war extinguished everything in the Gaza Strip.

Abdullah began his athletic journey in 2019 with the Al-Nasr Al-Arabi Club within the Strip, specializing in boxing. He quickly made a name for himself in local and continental competitions, winning a gold medal and the award for Best Player in an Asian championship, marking the Palestinian national team’s first victory in an Asian tournament.

But the path to his dream remained incomplete. After setting his sights on participating in the Paris Olympics, the recent Israeli aggression turned everything upside down.

With the outbreak of war in Gaza, Al-Nasr Al-Arabi Club was forced to close its doors, later transforming into a shelter for displaced people. Faced with this forced transformation, Abdullah found himself far from training, close to the pain of the people, participating in relief efforts, and selling on the sidewalk to secure a livelihood.

In the midst of this reality, Abdullah lost his brother, who was his teacher and support, following an Israeli bombing that targeted their neighborhood. It was another tragedy added to his record of losses, this time not losing a fight, but a life.

Abdullah told Al-Jazeera Net that the dream he had built over the years no longer had any shape, after the rings were destroyed, clubs were closed, and those who pushed him forward were killed.

Abdullah’s story is not an exception in Gaza; it is one of dozens where sports intertwined with war, dreams with displacement, and ambition with loss. The former champion expresses the tragedy of a rising Palestinian generation that saw sports as its window to the world but found itself trapped amidst the rubble.

Despite everything, there remains a tone of defiance in Abdullah’s voice. He affirms that sports are not just a fight to be won or lost, but a message, and he will stick to it, even if the ring changes.

(Al-Jazeera.net)