BHUBANESHWAR: In a black half-sleeve top, full-length tights of the same colour and no hijab — yes, you heard it right — Hiba Al Omar paints a picture that is in sharp contrast with the stereotyped image of Syrian athletes.
Despite all the chaos and turmoil that have engulfed the region, the 27-year-old is proud about her country and claims that it's because of the huge support that the administration gives to sports and facilities that she has come this far. Hiba will take part in women's discus. A male athlete — Majd Eddin Ghazal — will be in action in high jump.
It was Hiba who carried the Syrian flag during the march-past on the inaugural day. The image had gone viral and as expected, drew the attention of journalists. But to reach the athlete turned out be some task. Requests for interview with the athlete were stonewalled by team manager Mohsin Abbas. “Why you are you interested in us?” he bluntly told scribes at the team hotel on Thursday night. He grilled them mildly for over an hour, before finally agreeing for an interview.
Hiba, however, had no apprehensions facing the media. “We've no problems in Syria as the media are saying. We've facilities to train and there are a lot of young athletes coming up,” she said, with Mohsin prompting discretely from the background.
Hiba added that sports has always got the government's attention and held Ghada Shouaa, who had won gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, as a source of inspiration. “She's an icon for us. She infuses hope and positivity in our minds. She's my role model.”
As the conversation got longer, it became evident that Hiba was not interested in talking about 'sensitive' topics. Even if she wanted, she would be blocked. Being from a country where taking sides can be suicidal, the restraint perfectly made sense.
Hiba hails from Damascus, which is totally under government control. But still, security of life is not ensured even in the secured perimeters of the old city. Majd, the other athlete, had seen terror dancing in front of his eyes when an explosion rocked his training arena in the capital city of Syria before the London Olympics. His roots are in Quneitra — a garrison town that's now in ruins and witness to Syrian-Israeli wars and recent civil conflicts.
“He's a muhajir from Quneitra,” Abbas inadvertently revealed during the interview. But when the translator was asked to request the manager to tell more, the latter went back into his shell. “What's the need for that?” In this silence lie hope and despair.
