Jordanian Tennis Player Refuses to Face Israeli Opponent

IQNA – A 17-year-old Jordanian tennis player withdrew from an international competition after being drawn against a player from the Zionist regime.

Talal Shatara quit the International Junior Tennis Tournament in Cyprus in the first round in order not to face the Zionist regime’s representative, Palestine Online reported.

The tournament began in Cyprus on May 25 and concludes on June 1.

Shatara's decision was made immediately after the name of the Zionist opponent was announced.

The withdrawal of this Jordanian national tennis player was widely welcomed by national movements and groups opposed to normalization in Jordan.

The ‘Jordan Boycott’ movement and its national partner institutions announced that this action was taken within the framework of adhering to the Palestinian and Arab boycott criteria and in opposition to confronting representatives of the occupation regime on sports fields.

Talal Shatara is considered a prominent figure in Jordanian junior tennis. He has been a member of the national team since he was 10 years old and is ranked third in the latest official domestic rankings in the men's category.

Pro-boycott groups stressed that the Jordanian athlete’s action is a clear message of rejection of the normalization with the Zionist regime and opposition to the regime’s efforts to improve its image through international competitions, especially in the context of the ongoing genocidal war against the Gaza Strip and aggression against the Palestinian people.

The “Move to Resist and Counter Normalization” group also appreciated Shatara’s move, considering this decision a moral and national act, and emphasizing that sports should be an arena for defending human values ​​and justice, not a tool for whitewashing the faces of the occupiers.

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