Stroke of bad luck: Rising Yemeni-Sri Lankan squash star struggles under controversial rule out

In the early 2000s, little Fathoum spent time watching her five older brothers practice squash.

Soon after they finished for the day, she’d pick up their racket and swing a few shots. Observing her nimble footwork and combative flair around the court, Fathoum received unconditional support from her family and school principal at the time –which eventually set the groundwork to compete against players at the global level.

Today, representing Sri Lanka at the 22nd Commonwealth Games scheduled from July 29 to August 8 in Birmingham would have been a milestone for the 24-year-old squash star.

"[Fathoum] was a member of the Sri Lankan women’s squash team that claimed the bronze medal at the South Asian Games. Aside from all the hype, the controversy has brought, Fathoum’s hopes for the future remain bright"

But life, like sports, came with its own set of defeats and drudgery.

A Yemeni by origin, Fathoum Zaleeha Issadeen is Sri Lanka’s first and only Muslim professional female athlete seen wearing the traditional head cover.

In fact, Fathoum remains undefeated for three consecutive years. It was only a matter of time before Fathoum could almost see her dream come true when the unthinkable happened.

Shortly after rejecting her request to play the qualifying trial for three of the biggest sporting events (including the Commonwealth Games) in March instead of April when the holy month of Ramadan had started, Fathoum was ruled out by the Sri Lanka Squash Federation [SLSF] and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Sri Lanka.

“It’s really disappointing,” said the shocked athlete over a live broadcast on her Instagram page a few days ago. “I’m yet to receive an explanation as to why my name was deliberately cut off.” This brings us back to her utmost dedication to the game.

Affirming her passion for a sporting nation in its truest sense, Fathoum went on to say that she hopes not to leave or quit playing for Sri Lanka despite her brothers’ advice being far from it – who are equally disheartened over the authorities deterring their youngest sister’s participation at the Games – a golden opportunity missed for the second time.

In 2018, just three weeks before leaving for Gold Coast (Australia) for the 21st Commonwealth Games, the federation barred Fathoum from trying to institute an age limit on her stating that she was still a school-going child.

When in reality she had finished her A-Levels by then. Yet, it’s a complicated debate and incites tough questions on why hard-working athletes like Fathoum are discriminated against in the sports industry.

Bilaal Marikar, a law student following the fiasco since day one criticised the incompetency of those appointed as the authority. “This constant incompetence has resulted in many athletes being deprived of their chance to represent their country at the Commonwealth Games this year."

He added that “unsuitable board members value the wrong things in their profession and just look at it as an avenue of income for themselves rather than actually dedicating their effort in ensuring that the athletes are given a chance to flourish and the sport is improved."

At a time when Sri Lanka is wrestling with a deep financial crunch, the island’s tourism sector was also severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with unprecedented effects on jobs and businesses still facing gridlock.

Even more, bounded by ethnic divisions continuing to fester in an already wounded nation, seeing Fathoum represent Sri Lanka would be a powerful unifying force binding all communities together.

But “we see injustice regardless of ethnicity and caste,” Nuzly Hameem, a former engineer and a familiar face at the Sri Lanka protests, told The New Arab.

“She is extraordinary and has performed so well in the last few years and it’s unfair she wasn’t selected to play in Birmingham. Nobody from the federation expressed any concern. It was all hush-hush until Fathoum spoke out on social media.”

"Bounded by ethnic divisions continuing to fester in an already wounded nation, seeing Fathoum represent Sri Lanka would be a powerful unifying force binding all communities together"

Former squash player and an avid sports writer, Akhila Seneviratne may not know Fathoum personally but was aware of all the potential she had to be a great resource in the future for Sri Lanka and deemed the federation’s decision to ban her as something bound to happen.

“There need to be fair selections," he noted. “Players deserve to be informed why they are not selected because who wants to play a sport where their own sporting body doesn’t communicate on these matters in a more transparent way?”

Fathoum is No. 1 in the women’s national category in Sri Lanka and peaked at No. 246 on the world ranking board. In 2019, she took home the Senior National Squash Champion title and was runner-up in the plate event at the Asian Senior Individual Squash Championships held in Kuwait.

In 2016 and 2019, she was a member of the Sri Lankan women’s squash team that claimed the bronze medal at the South Asian Games. Aside from all the hype, the controversy has brought, Fathoum’s hopes for the future remain bright.

While her influence strongly exerts the Egyptian squash player Raneem El Weleily, a three-time finalist of the World Open and the first Arab woman to reach the World No.1 title in any sport, she looks forward to a work-life balance having chosen a sporting career.

The challenges of combining work and decent family life are often considered the ultimate female struggle and Muslim women who participate in sports publicly have it twice as hard.

However, many have shown that it can be done. “Raneem’s commitment on the court and to the family is admirable. She’s a mother,” said Fathoum. “That’s something I’d also like to come home to at the end of the day.”

Rushda Rafeek is an award-winning poet and freelance writer with bylines in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Chicago Review of Books, etc.

Follow her on Twitter: @ryushha