Standing on the podium is every athlete's dream, and at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Kuwaiti squash player Amar al-Tamimi won Kuwait a bronze medal in the men's team competition along with his teammates. At this year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, Amar will compete in the men's singles competition. Amar said that in order to realize his medal dream again, his preparation training will continue until the last minute before boarding the plane for Hangzhou.
At 5 p.m., Amar al-Tamimi arrived at the training ground on time, and the Kuwaiti squash team's second-seeded player will compete in the Asian Games for the fourth time this year along with three other teammates.
Kuwaiti squash player Amar al-Tamimi: China is a beautiful country. The Chinese people are more beautiful, they are very hospitable and very helpful.
Wang Yin: What I am holding now is the squash ball, which is made of rubber, the volume is very small, plus we can see that its playing field is not too large, so the squash ball is extremely fast when it is played, and the ball path is unpredictable. This requires athletes to continue to run back and forth on the field to hit the ball, which has extremely high requirements for athletes' physical fitness, explosiveness, and flexibility. So the coach just told me that don't look at this ball is small, but the intensity of the sport of squash is actually much higher than that of other ball games such as tennis, basketball, and volleyball.
Amar works as a secondary school PE teacher, and balancing work and training is a big problem he has to face on a daily basis. Despite this, aside from having to rest due to injury, Amar has hardly missed a single training session.
Kuwaiti squash player Amar al-Tamimi: Competing in the Asian Games was a dream I had since childhood, because squash was not selected for the Olympic sport, so the Asian Games is the highest level of multi-sport event I can participate in as a squash player.
In Amar's view, Hong Kong is one of Kuwait's toughest opponents this year.
Kuwaiti squash player Amar al-Tamimi: Hong Kong, China is one of the favourites to win gold or other medals, and the level of the players is high. We have played Hong Kong before, and we have beaten each other.
Although the Asian Games have not yet officially opened, Amar has been paying attention to the news related to the Asian Games.
Kuwaiti squash player Amar al-Tamimi: What I pay the most attention to is the news of the squash venue, which has a very beautiful exterior, there are eight fields in the venue, some of which are connected. I read the reports and was happy to be there. Between games, we were able to go out and meet the locals, experiences that you don't get in your own country.
But what makes Amar most happy about participating in the Asian Games is that more people can understand and contact the slightly niche sport of squash.
Kuwaiti squash player Amar al-Tamimi: After the squash sport enters the Asian Games, more and more people will pay attention to the sport, and more and more people will watch the broadcast of squash matches on TV, which can increase people's awareness and understanding of the sport, so that more people can start to play this sport.
(CCTV News Client)