During his stay in Doha, Hamada will have access to accommodation, training, and medical facilities.

Palestine’s first Olympic weightlifter, Mohammed Hamada, is aiming to secure a universality place at the upcoming Paris Olympics with support from Qatar’s local federation.

According to the International Weightlifting Federation, Hamada will be offered essential training conditions leading up to the 2024 Paris Games.

Universality places serve as vital opportunities to athletes from underrepresented National Olympic Committees, fostering diversity of participating nations within the Olympic Games’ sports programme.

Having finished 13th in the 96kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the 22-year-old Hamada now faces the new challenge of securing a spot at the Paris Games.

The Palestinian athlete’s training routine has been significantly disrupted by Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, yet he still managed to participate in the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand in March and April.

The event was the final qualification opportunity for the Paris Games and one of two mandatory competitions on Hamada’s path. Competing in the 96kg category, which is now replaced by the 102kg category for the Olympics, Hamada ranked ninth with lifts of 100kg in snatch, 120kg in clean and jerk, totalling 220kg.

Despite the challenging circumstances, this performance did not match his personal best of 141kg snatch and 171kg clean and jerk, achieved at the 2021 IWF World Junior Championships.

Upon his arrival in Doha, Hamada was greeted by IWF President Mohammed Jalood, the President of the Asian and Qatari Weightlifting Federation Mohamed Al Mana, and IWF Athletes Commission Chair Forrester Osei.

“It is our duty to welcome and support any athlete having problems in his country,” Al Mana said.

“We needed to ensure this athlete remains in good shape and can train in normal conditions, as we are confident he will be able to get a universality place for the Games,” Al Mana went on to say.

“We are not doing this exclusively as Qatar. We are a weightlifting family and we do this as a family, helping one of its members.”

During his stay in Doha, Hamada will have access to accommodation, meals, training, medical, and physiotherapy facilities.

Hamada also had the opportunity to meet Meso Hassouna, the Qatari legend and reigning Olympic champion in the 96kg category.

“There is a very good infrastructure here for all those athletes aiming at training at the highest level,” said Forrester Osei. “I used some of the facilities and I must say that the work of the Qatar Weightlifting Federation has been amazing in developing the sport in this region.”

Osei represents Ghana in international events and has been training in Doha for several years.

“Hamada will find a friendly and optimal environment here, and we will make our best to ensure his preparation is good, should he be selected for the Games in Paris,” he added.