Guts and glory for Maryam

Maryam suffered the ignominy of being called a refugee when she approached for permission to participate in the games, reports Ajai Masand

SOME THINGS come very difficult in life. Ask Jamal Maryam Yusuf, who has learnt that running is more than just sweat and grind on the track. Double Asiad gold-medallist here, she had to leave Ethiopia, her country of birth, because it had been ravaged by drought.

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Maryam suffered the ignominy of being called a refugee, when she approached the athletic association of the country to give her permission to participate for them.

"Three times we approached the Swiss authorities to grant us asylum so that Maryam could take part in the athletic competitions, but we were told we could not be allowed to do that," said her husband cum coach Tariq Hasan who, too, was a refugee in Switzerland.

"We met there and got married, after which we sent our request to many countries. But no one was willing to come to our help," said Tariq, of his ward who won gold in the 1500m at the World Cup finals in Athens this year.

"The last straw came when she wanted to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics but was denied permission by the Swiss for the third time. But Allah came to our rescue and our request was accepted by the Bahrain Olympic Association," says tall Tariq.

"Since 2005, she has been competing in almost all the major international meets for Bahrain and also won the world indoor bronze at Moscow," says the proud husband.

It is a case of adversity bringing out the best in an athlete.