Displaced Gazan Karate Champ Forges a Future in Egypt

Palestinian Karate-ka, 18-year-old Mais Elbostami, trains in a park near her home, east of the Egyptian capital Cairo on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
Palestinian Karate-ka, 18-year-old Mais Elbostami, trains in a park near her home, east of the Egyptian capital Cairo on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Displaced Gazan Karate Champ Forges a Future in Egypt

Palestinian Karate-ka, 18-year-old Mais Elbostami, trains in a park near her home, east of the Egyptian capital Cairo on June 25, 2024. (AFP)
Palestinian Karate-ka, 18-year-old Mais Elbostami, trains in a park near her home, east of the Egyptian capital Cairo on June 25, 2024. (AFP)

On October 6, 2023, Palestinian karate champion Mais Elbostami went to bed thrilled after winning a competition in the Gaza Strip. She awoke the next day to a different world.

"I'd won first place," the shy 18-year-old told AFP from a Cairo suburb, where her family now lives after escaping the war and where she is training in the hope to one day represent her country internationally.

She said she "hadn't even hung up the medals" she won on October 6 before Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Immediately, she and her family fled south from their home in the northern Gaza Strip as Israel launched a relentless retaliatory military campaign.

Over the past nine months, the war has reduced much of the besieged Palestinian territory to rubble and killed more than 38,000 people, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.

Amid the hell of bombing and displacement, "every hour that passed felt like it aged you by a year", said Elbostami.

Death was all around her.

"In the first 10 days alone, I lost my coach Jamal al-Khairy, and his granddaughter who used to train with me," she said.

When the family made it to the Egyptian capital in April, Elbostami had two things on her mind: making sure relatives back home were safe, and getting back to her karate training.

- 'Raise the flag' -

Despite being trapped in Gaza, Palestinian national team coach Hassan al-Raiy put her in touch with the Egyptian team, and within two weeks she was back on the mat.

"My coaches here in Egypt have practically adopted me, and they're working with me so I can get good enough to compete in the next championships," she said.

Whenever she can, she spars on the mat. But with limited resources and gym time, Elbostami has also had to train in the streets and gardens around her house.

She often finds her mind wandering to Gaza's Mediterranean shore.

"Training back home was different. Every Friday my teammates and I would go and train by the sea," she said.

Karate is known for its strong focus on discipline and self-control, and this has helped the young karateka to "detach from reality" -- living as a refugee from a brutal war -- even for a little while.

"My emotions sometimes get the best of me. There are times I can't get through a full session" without remembering "fleeing on foot as air strikes fell all around us", she said.

Elbostami tries to focus on her goal -- "to represent my country and raise its flag in international competitions".

- 'It's for my country' -

She has a long way to go, and her first stop on that journey is Egypt's own national championships in August.

"It's a tough challenge," she said, because Egyptian karate athletes have historically outperformed their Palestinian counterparts."

"But it will bring my level up, too."

Elbostami's Egyptian coach, Mamdouh Salem, told AFP that the teenager was an "athlete with a lot of potential, dedication and persistence".

"We're working on her technique, but ultimately karate is more a game of skill than talent -- I expect Mais will excel."

He said he wants to help her raise the Palestinian flag around the world.

"If we can't fight with them" in Gaza, "we can at least help them represent their country abroad", he said, echoing widespread Egyptian solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

Her Gazan teammates, coaches and most of her relatives may remain trapped in Gaza -- and she said dozens of them have been killed -- but against all odds, Elbostami has survived.

"So I don't have any excuse to keep me from achieving my goal," she said.

"I'll do everything I can to highlight the Palestinian cause. Every championship and every time I represent Palestine, it's for my country, for the martyrs and for the wounded."



Marquinhos: PSG Has to 'Do Things Properly' after Another Champions League Loss

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian defender #05 Marquinhos reacts after Atletico's team scored during the UEFA Champions League, League phase - Matchday 4, football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Atletico Madrid, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on November 6, 2024. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian defender #05 Marquinhos reacts after Atletico's team scored during the UEFA Champions League, League phase - Matchday 4, football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Atletico Madrid, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on November 6, 2024. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP)
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Marquinhos: PSG Has to 'Do Things Properly' after Another Champions League Loss

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian defender #05 Marquinhos reacts after Atletico's team scored during the UEFA Champions League, League phase - Matchday 4, football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Atletico Madrid, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on November 6, 2024. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian defender #05 Marquinhos reacts after Atletico's team scored during the UEFA Champions League, League phase - Matchday 4, football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Atletico Madrid, at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on November 6, 2024. (Photo by Franck FIFE / AFP)

Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos lamented the team's inefficiency and inability to “do things properly” after a 2-1 home loss to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday left it last among the four French clubs in the new-look Champions League.
PSG once again entered the competition hopeful of winning it for the first time, but is now 25th out of 36 clubs after only one win in four matches. The bottom 12 are eliminated after eight rounds, The Associated Press reported.
“We are not improving in terms of efficiency,” Marquinhos told Canal Plus television. “Sometimes when we make mistakes in the Champions League we are not punished for it, but when you have top players in the other team then you are (punished)."
With games against Bayern Munich and Manchester City still to come, PSG faces the worrying prospect of failing to qualify for the knockout round. The top eight reach the round of 16 while teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the knockout playoffs.
“You have to tell the truth, if we want to win games then we have to do things properly,” Marquinhos said in French. "I’ve been here 10, 11 years and I know how we get punished on the small details.”
PSG was a Champions League semifinalist last season, and reached the final in 2020.
By comparison, fellow French club Brest had never even played in any European competition before this season and has a much smaller budget.
Yet Monaco is third and Brest is fourth in the Champions League table and both are unbeaten. Lille, meanwhile, has beaten Real Madrid at home, Atletico away and drawn with Juventus.
While they are exceeding expectations, PSG is falling way short.
After PSG midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery put PSG ahead in the 14th minute, poor defending gifted the Spanish side an equalizer four minutes later, when Nahuel Molina shot into the top-left corner.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak made saves from Bradley Barcola, João Neves, and Achraf Hakimi and — following a last-gasp PSG corner — threw the ball all the way up the field.
Veteran forward Antoine Griezmann collected it on the left and picked out Ángel Correa, who scored past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the third minute of additional time.
“We weren’t in position and they were able to counterattack,” Marquinhos said. “These are things that we need to improve. We have big games coming up and need to get points.”
PSG midfielder Vitinha pointed to missed chances, a recurring theme after the 1-1 draw against PSV last month.
“Small details make the difference and we couldn’t find a way to take the lead," the Portugal international said. “We need to improve how we play and keep a cool head.”
Before the game, PSG's fans in the Auteuil section of the Parc des Princes — which houses the club's ultras — held up a giant banner with the text "Free Palestine."
There was another line underneath in French reading “War on the pitch but peace in the world.”