STORY: Karate athlete looks forward to raising Palestinian flag at Hangzhou Asian Games
DATELINE: Sept. 21, 2023
LENGTH: 0:01:46
LOCATION: RAMALLAH, Palestine
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Palestinian karate athletes training
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): HALA AL-QADI, Palestinian karate athlete
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): ISMAIL WARDA, Karate coach

STORYLINE:

A 22-year-old Palestinian karate athlete told Xinhua during her daily training in Ramallah that she dreamed of winning medals for Palestine at the 19th Asian Games set to be held in China's Hangzhou from Sept. 23 to Oct. 8.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): HALA AL-QADI, Palestinian karate athlete
"We are very excited to go to China. It will be an important experience for us, and all the Palestinian players from different sports are preparing for the competition with vigor. We hope that we will achieve many achievements. After I participated in the Arab Games in Algeria and won the silver medal, there was great interest from the Palestinian Olympic Committee to participate in the Asian Games, especially for me. I participated in a camp in Jordan a while ago. Currently, I'm exercising twice a day through my personal trainer, and an Irish coach was also brought in, who carried out a camp for a week. There is another camp in Jordan as part of the preparations for the Asian Games."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): ISMAIL WARDA, Karate coach
"We are going to China not only to participate, but we have a basic goal and a plan to get a medal. Hala has good experience and important skills and will be a strong competitor. I think she will get on the podium and bring a medal for Palestine."

According to the Palestinian Olympic Committee, al-Qadi is one of 100 athletes aiming to win medals for Palestine at the 19th Asian Games.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ramallah, Palestine.
(XHTV)