Jordanian brothers and boxing buddies Hussein and Zeyad Ashish spend their time throwing punches on their rooftop during the COVID-19 lockdown as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.
Jordanian boxers throw punches on their rooftop in preparation for Olympics
SHOWS: BAQAA CAMP NEAR AMMAN, JORDAN (MAY 14, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1.
VARIOUS OF BOXER HUSSEIN ASHISH TRAINING WITH BROTHER ZEYAD ON THEIR ROOFTOP 2.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN BOXER, HUSSEIN ASHISH, SAYING: "It's definitely more entertaining when I train with my colleagues, because we all work together and encourage each other.
There is a big difference (between physical and online training) in many ways.
When the (physical) training is over, we start joking and chatting with each other, but during the online (training) we say train and that's it." 3.
HUSSEIN AND ZEYAD CHATTING WITH FITNESS TRAINER VIA VIDEO CALL 4.
FITNESS TRAINER, MUATH GHAZI, ASKING PLAYERS TO START TRAINING 5.
HUSSEIN AND ZEYAD LIFTING WEIGHTS 6.
MOBILE PHONE SHOWING GHAZI GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAYERS 7.
HUSSEIN AND ZEYAD LIFTING WEIGHTS 8.
GHAZI FOLLOWING TRAINING ON LAPTOP 9.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FITNESS TRAINER FOR JORDANIAN BOXING TEAM, MUATH GHAZI, SAYING: "The main challenge we face is that we cannot leave our homes, and this has an impact on us, but we are trying to overcome these challenges and the players are adapting to the situation by training online." 10.
VARIOUS OF ZEYAD TRAINING 11.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN BOXER, ZEYAD ASHISH, SAYING: "It was an amazing feeling not just because I qualified (for the Tokyo Olympics) but because my brother and I qualified on the same day, so it was a beautiful feeling for our family.
When we returned home, everyone was celebrating and brought a cake, so they created a beautiful atmosphere and we enjoyed that day with our family." 12.
ZEYAD TRAINING 13.
HUSSEIN ADJUSTING PROTECTIVE HEAD GEAR 14.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN BOXER, HUSSEIN ASHISH, SAYING: "We became popular among the residents of the Baqaa camp and even in the capital Amman.
Whenever we walk on the street in the camp, everyone says hello to us, everyone invites us, and they say that we made them proud.
This makes me proud and my family feels proud also.
It is very beautiful to have two brothers qualify together for the Olympics." 15.
VARIOUS OF BROTHERS TRAINING AT THEIR ROOF STORY: Brothers and boxing buddies Hussein and Zeyad Ashish spend their time throwing punches on their rooftop, after lockdown measures imposed by the Jordanian government prevented them from getting to the gym.
The duo, who recently qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, train as their fitness coach gives them instructions via an online video call.
A lockdown imposed by the government two months ago to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus led to the closure of all training halls and the suspension of all sports activities.
Eying Olympic gold next year, the two brothers decided to stay fit by training in their home in the Baqaa camp, near Amman.
The Tokyo Games, originally scheduled to start July this year, have been postponed to July 23 - August 8, 2021 due to the pandemic.
Hussein, who qualified for the Olympics for the second time in his career, said he misses interacting with his colleagues at the end of training.
His brother Zeyad, father of one who qualified for the first time this year, said their whole family were excited with the prospect of him and Hussein competing at the same Olympics.
The two brothers were among five Jordanian boxers who qualified for the Games.
This is the first time the country has five athletes who qualified for the Olympics in a single sport.
(Production: Mohammad al-Rahami, Jehad Abu Shalbak, Muath Freij)