Feature: Syrians glad country's name mentioned somewhere far from war

"We have been used to watching the news about Syria all related to blood, bombings and killing, so it's good to see Syria's name mentioned in a sport event, far from all of the blood and carnage at home," said Maher, a 28-year-old Syrian, about his country's participation in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

A small number of Syrian athletes are taking part in the Rio Olympics this year, a shy participation, but important for Syrians, whose country has been gripped by over six years of crisis.

"We have been in a crisis for six years, and everything we do, and all of the events that we witness are non-detachable from the crisis," Maher told Xinhua.

"It's really sad to see all athletes united under the Olympic flag, while the Syrians cannot unify under one flag," he said, wishing that "if the Olympics could be a good omen to us, and we wish the decision makers to think about a solution to our country's crisis."

His friend Sana' deemed the Syrian participation in the Olympics as a victory, no matter what the results could be.

"It makes us happy to see our athletes taking part in the Olympics despite the war in the country. We wish they could win some medals and we wish them the best of luck," she told Xinhua.

"Whatever success they may get will be an achievement for us if we take into consideration the tough situation they have been through, as any other Syrian in this crisis," she continued.

For his part, Muwaffaq Jouma, Chairman of the Sports Federation in Syria, also hoped the Syrian team could score some winnings.

"The athletes participating in the Rio Olympics are in five sport categories including athletics, swimming, weight lifting, table tennis and Judo. We are hoping to score some medals," he said.

"We realize that the mission size is small, but if we take into consideration the situation and conditions in our country, we find that the size of the mission is big in its national meanings," he continued.

Jouma said he was counting on scoring a medal with Majededdin Ghazal, a qualified high jumper.

Ibrahim Aba Zaid, the head of the Syrian Olympic team, said four out of seven Syrian athletes with the national team have achieved scores that qualified them to take part in the games, namely high jumper Majededdin Ghazal, weightlifter Maen Asaad, swimmers Bayan Jouma and Azad al-Barazi.

Others who have been personally invited by the Olympics were runner Ghufran Almohamad, Judo player Muhammad Qassem and table tennis player Heba Allejji.

Bayan Jouma, the swimmer, said "I am proud to represent my country in the Olympics as this is the dream of every athlete."

She said one of the difficulties that faces her throughout the training process is having to swim in a cold water during the winter.

Still, Jouma said she had prepared well in a prolonged training camp in Russia for four months.

Weightlifter Asaad said he will exert all efforts to represent Syria in the best way possible.

Syria first participated in the Olympic Games in 1948, when the diver Zouheir Al-Shourbagi was the sole competitor at the 1948 London games and placed 10th in the men's platform. Endit