Tokyo 2021: Lebanese Ray Bassil wants to give joy to her fellow citizens

Published on : 07/27/2021 – 15:22

“I want (…) to help the Lebanese to breathe a little. Sport may be able to give hope to Lebanon”. In Tokyo, Ray Bassil hopes to wear high the colors of his country which is sinking into the worst economic crisis in its history, coupled with a political crisis. On Wednesday July 28, she competes in the Olympic pit event at the Tokyo Games.

“My goal is to win an Olympic medal, not just to participate” in the Olympics, the 32-year-old athlete told AFP.

“I want to bring joy to the people of my country”, she adds on the occasion of her third Games, while Lebanon has not won an Olympic medal since the bronze won in Greco-Roman wrestling in Moscow in 1980.

It was at the age of 14 that the young woman embarked on this sporting adventure by accompanying her father. She took part two years later in her first competition abroad, in Algeria.

Expatriate in Italy for her preparation

Since then, she has climbed the ranks: she finished 5th in her first world championships in 2009, placed 18th in London-2012 and 14th in Rio-2016 or won the title at the 2019 Asian Championships.

For Tokyo, despite many uncertainties and setbacks, the shooter trained relentlessly. After having had the Covid, she quickly returned to training despite strict confinement, by getting down to exercise between cars parked in her underground garage. She then flew to Italy, where she continued her practice in a shooting range in the town of Massa Martana, far from the “negative distraction” at home.

“I needed a more appropriate environment to hone my skills,” she explains.

Lebanon is going through one of the world’s worst economic crises since 1850, according to the World Bank. This collapse has caused a large-scale impoverishment of the population, while the national currency continues to unscrew. Hundreds of thousands of people are struggling to make ends meet amid soaring inflation, severe fuel and drug shortages, and draconian power rationing. The situation prompted many Lebanese to pack their bags in search of milder skies.

A gigantic explosion at the port of Beirut last summer – which killed more than 200 and devastated entire districts of the capital – further tested an already kneeling population.

“I know the situation in Lebanon is really bad. People are tired and we are all mentally exhausted, but I don’t want this to affect my morale,” said the sportswoman.

The country is, moreover, stuck in a political impasse that goes on forever. He has still been without a government for eleven months, due to haggling and political blockages.

“For the Lebanese people, not for the government”

The path to the Tokyo Olympics will however have been tortuous for the young woman, with the accumulation of successive crises and the ban by the banks of any transfer abroad.

“Even buying (rifle) bullets was not easy,” she laments. “Supporters in Italy and some Lebanese must have helped me send them to Beirut.”

To finance his stay in Japan, Ray says he used private sponsors, as well as contributions from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee.

The shooter is one of six Lebanese athletes to participate in the Tokyo Olympics. The delegation also includes judoka Nacif Elias, weightlifter Mahassen Hala Fattouh, athlete Noureddine Hadid, as well as swimmers Munzer Kabbara and Gabriella Doueihy.

“My country really needs my colleagues and I,” said Ray. “What I want to accomplish is for myself, my family, and for the Lebanese people, not for any government.”

With AFP