Busan, Oct 07: To get to the training gym in Jerusalem, Nablus boxer Munir Abukeshek runs a gauntlet of curfews, roadblocks and the occasional tank fire that has made the West Bank every Palestine athlete's nightmare.

The heavens must have taken note of his determination because the 27-year-old light heavyweight drew an opening-round bye and went straight to a semi-final fight at the Asian Games boxing tournament here. "I've already got a medal," Abukeshek told a news agency, adding that he would try to improve its color.

"The occupation is really difficult," said trainer said Mesk, speaking through interpreter and judo coach Hani Sharif Halabi. "In all sports we can only train a little. It's very difficult for me to bring together the boxers." With the heightened Israeli army activity against Palestinian militants, ordinary roads become obstacle courses, he said. The Palestine tracksters trained in Egypt, but the boxers did not have that luxury.

Middleweight Ismael Faiala, who lives in a refugee camp near Ramallah, is Palestine's other boxer here. He lost to India's Jitender Kumar on points on Saturday.

"If you go to Ramallah from Jerusalem in normal times, the trip takes about 15 minutes only. But now it takes about five or six hours," Mesk added. Bureau Report