Syrian refugee girls pursue squash dreams in Hong Kong

As three young Syrian squash players enthusiastically pound the courts in Hong Kong they are clearly enjoying their first ever international tournament.

The girls, aged between 11 and 13, are part of a new team called Squash Dreamers, made up of displaced Syrian youngsters who were forced to flee their war-torn homeland.

Even after their matches in the five-day Hong Kong junior tournament are over, they head back to the practice courts for more.

“It’s not that important whether I win or not, I just like playing games,” 13-year-old Raghda Husryeh said, saying she hoped to become a squash coach in the future.

The girls are among more than 330,000 Syrian children estimated by the UN to have fled across the border to neighbouring Jordan since conflict broke out in 2011.

Husryeh and her family escaped the bombs and bullets in their battered hometown of Homs five years ago, before gradually making their way to safety abroad.