Youngsters beating the odds to flourish in Palestine's pools

Eleven-year-old Maya Khalil spread her collection of medals over her bed and proudly listed her latest achievements in the pool－new personal bests in three different 50-meter races as well as the 100m breaststroke.

The results have earned Maya a place in Palestine's youth swimming team－a feat made all the more impressive given the lack of sporting infrastructure and facilities in the troubled region.

"I was so happy when I realized I had narrowed my new record by almost 10 seconds this time," Maya told Xinhua at her home in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "I know we fall short in too many areas, but I'm excited to train and join the Palestine youth team."

Raed Milad, vice-president of the Palestinian swimming federation, told Xinhua there are over 80 swimmers spread over 14 teams in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

They train in 25-meter pools because there is not a single Olympic-size 50m pool in Palestine.

"I believe Maya will have a remarkable future with her skill," he said of the young prodigy.

Milad lamented the poor swimming infrastructure in Palestine, including a lack of basic facilities such as international-standard starting blocks. However, he prefers to emphasize the positives, and added: "We are not short of emerging talents."

As news of Maya's call-up to the squad spread, she encouraged her schoolmates in Ramallah to take the plunge and join the local youth team.

"It's very important to learn how to swim because it's a very important life skill," said the youngster. "Everybody should be able to swim, not necessarily for winning a gold medal."

The Ramallah team now has eight members who train twice a week, while Maya trains 90 minutes each day.

Maya's mother, Dina Jawhar, said that her daughter's passion for swimming has grown significantly in the past year and she is now focusing more on building her stamina and improving her technique.

"It made us so happy to watch her speed during the race, we were truly anxious, but really she made us proud," said Dina.

"This achievement made us believe that hard work pays off, even amid a lack of appropriate infrastructure to help our children achieve their dreams.

"The spillover effect of Maya's achievement is that there are more and more kids daring to try swimming, despite the lack of adequate training conditions in the West Bank," she added, urging local authorities and parents to look out for exceptional talents who "can beat the odds when given the chance".

Palestine has participated six times in the Summer Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games when it was represented by just two athletes.

At the 2016 Rio Games, the Palestine team had six athletes, including two swimmers.