Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Lattakia, SANA –Syrian taekwondo player Abdullah Saqati is seeking to enter the Guinness World Records for the most two-finger push-ups (one arm) in one minute by breaking the Guinness World Record set by the Egyptian Mohammed Ali Zeinhom who completed 46 push-ups in 49 seconds using his right thumb and index finger only.
Performing 65 push-ups in one minute, Saqati succeeded in his attempt which took place at al-Bassel Stadium’s taekwondo arena under the supervision of a team including his coach and former international judge Isber Elias, Dr. Yamen Shehiydeh, who is a lecturer at the Faculty of Sports specializing in training science, and Dr. Zaid Husseino, a lecturer at the Faculty of Sports specializing in sports theories and technology.
In a statement to SANA, Saqati said that he took up taekwondo four years ago and his fist participation in competitions at the province level was three years ago, where he won the title of the Republic Champion.
“Coach Elias suggested the idea of training for push-up drills and set up the plan to enter the Guinness World Records by breaking the current record,” said Saqati, adding “I liked the idea and started training, taking into account all instructions, directives, and pieces of advice which had a positive impact on my performance and results.”
He expressed gratitude for the specialized training team that accompanied him step by step to achieve his ambition and dream to enter the Guinness World Records.
In turn, coach Elias said that the drills were conducted in line with international rules regarding this type of sports, which state that push-ups should be done using one arm on two fingers: the thumb and index finger, and that the body must remain straight throughout, with no bending at knees or waist. The score is calculated by the number of push-ups performed in no more than 60 seconds. The player has the right to stop pushing up whenever he wants but the suspension duration will be calculated from the total time of the competition.
He added that Saqati began training two years ago and the training regiment included special exercises focusing on strengthening all the major muscles in the body starting from nerves, fingers, and the muscles of hands, back, backbone, legs, and shoulders.
Elias noted that Saqati has already managed to break the current record three times in three different attempts where he performed between 50 and 60 push-ups in each of the first two attempts, and then increased the number to 65 in the last one, adding that the athlete will conduct another attempt on the next day before a public attempt at the square in front of the Governorate building.
For their part, the specialists Shehiydeh and Husseino said that their task in this endeavor is to supervise each attempt and ensure that the push-ups are performed properly within the allotted 60 seconds timeframe and according to the set criteria.
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Rasha Raslan / Hazem Sabbagh