2024-03-28 14:10:40
For Syrian Hazem Naw, the game of tennis is of great importance to the point that he came close to death because of it. When he was training in Syria during his teenage years, a bomb fell on a court next to the place where he was playing, and while he was taking shelter with his coach, another missile fell only 50 meters away from him, and a shrapnel hit him in the head. His arm.
Hazem Naw (24 years old) uses the terrifying memories of growing up in the Syrian war to reinforce his desire to build a professional tennis career.
Naw – the son of a tennis coach – grew up in the city of Aleppo, where sports were always at the forefront of his interests, but when the revolution broke out in 2011, walking 4 kilometers to the tennis club to train there posed a real threat to his life.
The Syrian tennis player told the British newspaper “The Sun”: “The war affected all Syrians; we were afraid, we just wanted to survive. From an economic standpoint, it was tragic for us; we were facing problems with many necessary things, such as electricity and water.” “Getting fruits and vegetables, and normal things, our situation was difficult.”
He added, “My mother’s aunt died as a result of a bomb, and a number of my father’s uncles died. It was very dangerous and difficult to play tennis in Syria. My brother and I were able to practice when the situation was calm and we did not hear gunfire or bombs. We tried to be very careful in practicing a little sport.” “It’s perfect if you have all that stress.”
“In Aleppo, the war-affected areas were two kilometers away from where we trained, so when they started shooting or fighting, we could hear everything clearly and leave immediately,” Nau continued. “Every day we went, there was little possibility that something would happen.”
In 2014, 4 of the 5 tennis courts at the Aleppo Club, where Hazem’s father was training, were destroyed. They were restored after more than 5 years, because there were more important things than repairing them, with the fifth court being slightly damaged, but it was still playable. .
By 2015, Hazem Naw’s father and older brother moved to Lebanon, while he went to Damascus for training, while his mother and sister remained in Aleppo. He was in Damascus when he experienced a horrific accident that almost ended his life when he was 15 years old.
He said about the incident, “I was training with one of the coaches on the first court and the first bomb fell on the fifth court. We felt like a small earthquake, then we moved to the place that we thought was safer, then the second bomb fell about 50 or 70 meters from the place where we were.” We were standing in it, and a small fragment of the bomb hit me in my right arm, which I was playing with.”
He continued, “It only penetrated the skin, and did not enter much into my arm, but I had to go to the hospital, clean the wound and tie it with duct tape.”
In 2018, Hazem Naw decided to leave Syria for Germany, where he initially stayed with his father’s friend, and now he lives in an apartment in the city of Cologne near his brother and coach Amer, and he cannot return to Syria, which is why he met his parents and sister only 4 times in the 6 years since he left, The meeting will take place in Iran, which he is visiting to participate in the “Iran International Tennis Championship.”
In his conversation with “Sun,” Hazem Naw said, “Family always comes first. Sometimes I play tennis for my family, hoping that the day will come when I can bring them all here (Germany) and that we can all live together. We talk via video almost.” Every day, it is always nice to see them in Iran but every time we meet at the airport it becomes emotional.”
Naw won the Iran International Tennis Championship Cup four times, the last of which was on the Iranian island of Kish last January, in addition to his brilliance with his team, “Rot Weiss Köln,” in the German League.
Hazem Naw became the first Syrian to win a match in the main round of the Challenge Tour, which is the level that precedes the ATP Tour, and it was a very important moment for the Syrian player. The world number 333 player said: “I am proud to be the first Syrian player to play a match in the Davis Cup, because In 2009, my city, Aleppo, hosted this event, and Syria was a participant, and I was – at the time – a ball collector.”
Nao aims to follow in the footsteps of the champions of the game by playing in major tennis tournaments, something that seemed impossible amid the horror he experienced in Syria. Although it was extremely painful, the war made him stronger and more driven on and off the field.
The young Syrian player said that his plan “is to play in all the major tournaments, such as the Masters tournaments and the Grand Slam tournaments, even if it is only to participate in the qualifiers. This is the goal of my life. I am now very close. There is still a big step about 100 places, but it is closer.” “As ever, especially after beating a top 100 player, it shows I can compete.”
Nao concluded his speech by saying: “Of course, this war was not a good experience, but you have to create positives. It helped me become stronger and more stamina on the field and appreciate things, like family or not wasting food. At that time in Syria, I never thought that I would “I will get this far. I did my best to get to where I am now, athletically, humanly and personally.”
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