MICHAEL MIYOBA
Lusaka

AT AN age when many teenagers are still searching for their passion, 15-year-old Ali Jaafar already knows exactly what he wants from life – to become a professional padel player and compete among the world’s best in Spain.
The Grade 10 pupil at the International School of Lusaka is determined to achieve his dream, having already planned his future, with every training session bringing him one step closer to realising his dream.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Ali moved to Zambia with his family when he was just three years old. Today, Lusaka is home, but his ambitions stretch far beyond Zambia’s borders.
“I come from a family of six. I have three brothers and no sister and I’m the third born,” Ali said.
“How I came to love padel, I tried it one day for fun and I just took it serious and now it’s so fun and I have so much passion for it. I just want to turn professional.
My dream is to become a professional padel player in the future.”
What started as a casual introduction to the sport quickly developed into an obsession. However, like many young athletes, balancing academics and sport has not always been easy.
“It is really challenging balancing sports and education but I used to do afternoon activities, which I stopped, and now it’s easier.
I have time for school and padel. I train at different times,” Ali said.
The discipline and sacrifices are already paying off for the young lad, who continues to develop as one of Zambia’s promising young padel talents.
Behind every aspiring athlete is a support system, and Ali acknowledged his family, his coach and his manager as key influencers of his passion.
“My parents are my biggest supporters. They are with me in this journey and I’m really grateful for that,” he said.
“I’m currently sponsored by Summit Sports Arena and I play for Summit Sports Club. My coach is coach
Diego and my manager is Hussein Ahmad and they are really supportive. They are the ones who made me grow in the sport and they motivate me a lot.”
Despite his unwavering love for padel, Ali understands the importance of education and has a backup plan should life take a different direction.
“In future I would like to do business management if padel doesn’t work out. It is not my dream to do business because for me padel is number one and I’m looking forward to making pro in the future,” he said.
“My focus is on padel.
In the next five, 10 years I see myself turning pro. I see myself playing in Spain, getting sponsors and living with my family in Spain after turning pro.”
Ali believes his ambitious dream is achievable through hard work, discipline and consistency.
Apart from wanting to turn professional, Ali’s other dream is to make his parents proud.
“I really want to make my family proud and I just want to say thank you for their support. They are the reason I’m playing the sport so that I can help with the financial challenges in future,” he said.
Ali’s entrepreneurial ambitions may also have been shaped by his upbringing. His mother owns a salon while his father, Mohammed Jaafar, runs Form Masters, a mattressmanufacturing and sales company, in Lusaka.