Who is Anwar Elkamony?
Anwar Elkamony was brought up in Egypt in a tight knitted and large family. Hard work and dedication, and additional core human values have been passed along generations. His grandfathers Anwar Elkamony and Elgharib Eldrieny were great examples for Anwar during all his life.
A keen sportsman at an early age. Anwar played soccer at a high level throughout high school. A severe foot injury forced him to put an end to practicing and playing. End of chapter one. Anwar was admitted to The American University, Cairo. That energy and focus had to be transferred onto a new field …
In 2004 Anwar, at age 21, was struck by the spell of Tennis. He then had a clear vision he was going to reach tennis at a higher level than when he was a soccer player. His ultimate goal: to become a professional tennis player! Many people surrounding Anwar were doubtful or of little support. An average of up to 8 hours practice a day. Anwar trained with coaches in Egypt and abroad.
“First, they ignore you. Then they laugh at you…”. Look ahead. Focus. Anwar believed strongly his dream and vision were the right goal to pursue.
Anwar sat foot and racquets at Bruguera Tennis Academy, Spain. Where he met the coach and former top ATP player Fernando Luna, who was surprised by the level that Anwar has reached in such a short time. Coaches in the academy acknowledged Anwar for “being a working machine, as well as speed in his movements, forehand accuracy, repetitive shot’s ability, being strong on base-line”. Anwar injured his back pretty badly. He pushed yet again his limits. Have you ever hit a ball while sitting? That was Anwar’s only option at some point!
As a promising player, Anwar received a wild card to Barcelona Tennis Challenger. A big step since only 2 years had gone by after he held a tennis racket for the first time! Anwar played Marc Lopez on 10/10/2006. At his career-high, he was ranked ATP #1474. “It was a great achievement, great result, and award for my hard work and faith in myself.” Says Anwar
The longest match for Anwar spanned over 7 years: a fight against bone marrow failure, the sickness he wanted to evict from his body…
While playing a tournament in Macedonia, Anwar collapsed after 2 matches. Back in Egypt, Anwar is diagnosed with bone marrow failure, which led to severe anemia and very significant weakness in the immune system. A multidisciplinary team led by Dr. Hossam Kamel, Prof. of Hematology NCI, prepared, supervised, and followed up after Anwar’s life-saving operation. Anwar’s brother was the compatible donor. Strict protocol, sterile room, and complete isolation for more than a month. After a bone marrow transplant, Anwar was subjected to GvHD. Therefore a strong treatment to inhibit rejection was soon administrated, and Anwar was exposed to major problems in the liver, kidneys, skin, and also major problems in the digestive system, and finally, he was exposed to blockage of veins in both hands, which caused gangrene after 3 years of treatment.
Cortisone weakened muscles and caused weight gain up to 140 kg. Soon the competitive spirit that had developed as he was training to become an athlete, that spirit kicked in. It made Anwar stand up and succeed over time.
And after long 7 years of fighting with sickness and despite all doctor’s advice, Anwar succeeded to come back to his dream again.
March 2015. The airplane was landing at Barcelona airport. He came back here 10 years later…the place, where his journey began. From 5 minutes on court to 6 hours of training! From 2015 to 2016 Anwar played national tournaments in Spain. From 2017 to 2019 he played international tournaments around the world. In 2018 Anwar won and got his new ITF World Tennis ranking of 3251. Becoming the first athlete in the world to achieve an international tennis ranking after a bone marrow transplant operation.
In 2017 the documentary movie about Anwar’s story “7th Century Before birth was released. Movie participated at the international film festivals, released in Egyptian cinema theaters, and shown for cancer patients in Egypt and abroad. All profit from tickets sale went to charity causes.
A biography book “Match at the stadium of death” was released in 2021 by Al-Karma Publishing House. The book was chosen among the best biographical books for the most prominent Arab personalities in 2021.
From 2015 to 2021 Anwar has been honored by many cancer and educational organizations in Egypt and abroad.
He participated as a keynote speaker at Wiki Stage and Tedx events in Egypt. Since 2018 Anwar is a sports ambassador at Baheya breast cancer foundation in Egypt.
Anwar inspires people on and off courts. He gives hope to embrace life, shows to stand up, on the path to full recovery for many :
”Before we saw you, we wanted to die, and now you give us a spirit to live and we sure we can also come back to our dreams.” Tough words, yet words of life! He knows you can’t be liked by everyone, but Anwar federates way more people than many of us! Altruism at heart, he gives back to all: children, teenagers and adults.
Now he continues to inspire millions through his initiative the worldwide campaign “Hope Giver” aiming to spread hope and inspired by his own story of overcoming adversity.
Through the Hope Giver Campaign, Anwar wants to say: “Nothing is impossible…Look at me, how I got through the difficult stage and years of suffering. Believing that hope crosses boundaries, we look forward to maintaining continuity and supporting various groups, through many activities and campaigns.”
The campaign runs yearly with participants in more than 14 countries around the world and aims to uplift millions of people, including the handicapped, cancer fighters, golden-agers, cardiovascular patients, orphans, in addition to homeless people, mental health patients and hopeless people who faced a traumatic event or serious disease.
“Honored by everyone. Giving back to the community. Anwar’s story connects, moves, and inspires people to come back to a normal life after losing hope.”
“Now available for order: Anwar Elkamony’s newly released “Match at the Stadium of Death” by Al-Karma Publishing House”
Hurry up to order your copy now!
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