Qatar’s Abdulla al-Tamimi had a brilliant run in PSA Men’s World Squash Championship at home in Doha in November last year.
He beat 15th seed Gregoire Marche and world number 28 Mathieu Castagnet, before giving Egyptian world number 3 and eventual champion Tarek Momen a massive scare in a five-game thriller at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Since then the world number 32 has raked some promising results, including a quarter-final appearance in a World Tour Silver event in Michigan last month.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the sporting world to a screeching halt, wreaking havoc to the calendars across disciplines, so much so that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have also been postponed.
Amidst all the efforts of the State of Qatar to put an end to the pandemic in the country and around the world, the Aspire Academy graduate has reiterated the importance of complying with various rules and advisories, focusing on one’s health and fitness inside their homes, finding new ways to spend your time and how an athlete copes with critical and threatening situations like the one world faces now.
Excerpts:


People have been advised to remain at home (in the fight against coronavirus). What are your thoughts?
We should all definitely comply with the rules issued by the Qatari government and stay at home. If that’s what it takes to put an end to the coronavirus spread across the nation and help cure the affected cases, we should all follow everything our government is recommending for our safety, security, and well-being.
 
Why should everyone pay close attention to Qatar government’s advisory on staying at home at a time like this?
This virus is a very serious threat, not a joke. We can see that the number of cases is on the rise almost every day. We have to do whatever it takes to stop the spread of the disease.
 
Describe your day in self-isolation. What’s your daily routine, how are you spending this time at home to stay positive?
Looking at the positive side of it, I see it as a break gifted to me from God above. I have 14 days of fasting to cover from last Ramadan, because that’s when I needed to be on heavy training and was constantly travelling for competitions. Also I am spending a lot more time with the family as I’m always away. I’m loving it.
 
What is your advice to Qatar’s residents on maintaining their fitness at home?
It’s very important to work on your well-being in such times and try to stay fit, even if at home. There are a lot of body weights exercises we can do to stay fit. Squats, lunges, jumps, and running sprints in the safe environment of your own home, these would only take 20 minutes of your time. These can substitute being locked out of the gym for the time being.
 
What other activities are you engaged in at home that you would like to share with your fans?
I like to play carrom at home with the family. This is something we are doing these days. We absolutely love it! We also spend time playing cards and some other activities with the kids.
 
Since athletes need international competition to stay in top form, what will you do to stay in good form without competition?
I’m kind of lucky that it was almost the end of the season for squash. We still have three-four more tournaments left. So I don’t think it affects a lot as we can just call it an early off-season, while we normally have few weeks off anyway. If you think positive you can just keep training as summer break already.
 
Esports is becoming more popular as people observe the stay at home call to curb the Covid-19 spread, Share some games that you are playing, and what you would recommend for the audience during this period?
I play lots of PlayStation. I also play carrom, cards and do some tricks and stuff online, and challenge others and keep active all the time.
 
Is the current period affecting athletes more or other people and how?
This period is affecting us all at all levels. However, athletes I guess are more trained to deal with injuries and extremely tough situations that might be career-threatening and imposes a sudden change on their usual life. This is out of the sporting experiences. We have learned to adapt faster. We will come out of this phase, all of us, and beat the virus. This is a challenge that we all have to face and we will overcome it.
 
Lots of big milestones await you this year in competitions. How do you evaluate the current situation amidst all the cancellations and postponement? And what is the effect on sports globally?
The virus has forced whole continents to slow down and pause. This is affecting a lot of sponsors and people who invest big in sports. Same goes for us athletes. However, as athletes, we need to keep going and be ready for the competitions to come back stronger anytime. I will be ready to move on and forget about this virus. Positivity and looking forward in such situations is key, and as I said earlier, I look at this situation as a test and I will do my best to pass that test. I would advise everyone to look at it this way.
 
How does the current situation affect your training schedule and the preparations to be ready for your big milestones this year, especially after the strong start you had in the World Championship?
I’ve been playing really well this season specially since October... The current situation definitely breaks the good momentum, but this not just in my case. The impact is on all the athletes and the whole world. I will come back stronger than before I promise. Sometimes you need a break to come back more keen than before to achieve your goals.