- Title: WEST BANK: West Bank family show off their table tennis talent
- Date: 12th May 2010
- Summary: HEBRON, WEST BANK (RECENT) (REUTERS) WIDE OF AL-SHARIF FAMILY MEMBERS PLAYING TABLE TENNIS AND TRAINING GIRL WEARING SCARF AND THE AL-SHARIF UNIFORM PLAYING TABLE TENNIS BOY PLAYING TABLE TENNIS VARIOUS OF AL-SHARIF FAMILY MEMBERS PLAYING TABLE TENNIS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) NARIMAN AL-SHARIF, TABLE TENNIS PLAYER, SAYING: "This game is in our blood, as the Sharif family. When we were young in year 1974, our father brought a tennis table for our home, and of course when you have a table tennis table in the house you play all the time. Due to the political situation at the time (in the late 1980s and early 1990s), we used to stay at home, so we used to train a lot." VARIOUS OF AL-SHARIF FAMILY CHILDREN PLAYING TABLE TENNIS CLOSE OF T-SHIRT WITH "AL-SHARIF SPORTS" WRITTEN ON IT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ANAS AL-SHARIF, YOUNG TABLE TENNIS PLAYER, SAYING: "Because it is a nice and lovely game to play. It gives me power and energy." MORE OF PEOPLE PLAYING TABLE TENNIS PEOPLE WATCHING THE GAMES MORE OF AL-SHARIF FAMILY TRAINING AND PLAYING TABLE TENNIS
- Embargoed: 27th May 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVATM7VQX7T4IYD6FUHZZS0AFEJ
- Story Text: In a hall in the West Bank city of Hebron, members of the al-Sharif family are showing off their table tennis skills.
Young and old members of the extended family are enthusiasts of the game, with many of the players winning trophies from local tournaments. The family has so many members that play table tennis that they have set up their very own team, complete with team t-shirts.
Among the players is Nariman al-Sharif who took up the sport at the age of six. She is an award winning table tennis player in the West Bank, and is one of the main members of the al-Sharif team.
Taking a break from a game, Nariman said the al-Sharif family club was set up in the 1970s, and now has more than 100 members.
She said she honed her skills during the years of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from 1987 to 1993, when residents of the Palestinian territories were subject to frequent Israeli-imposed curfews.
"This game is in our blood, as the Sharif family. When we were young in year 1974, our father brought a tennis table for our home, and of course when you have a table tennis table in the house you play all the time. Due to the political situation at the time (in the late 1980s and early 1990s), we used to stay at home, so we used to train a lot,'' Nariman said.
The club is set to continue for generations to come, as the younger players are coached and taught the sport by older al-Sharif players,
"It is a nice and lovely game to play. It gives me power and energy," said Anas al-Sharif, one of the younger players.
The al-Sharif family were prominent competitors in the first Palestinian Tennis tournament which was held in 1994, and which led to founding the Palestinian Tennis Federation in 1996. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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