Boxing to drown out bombs

Pack a punch: Kattan (right) during a training session at the Shahba boxing club he founded in Syria’s war-torn Aleppo city. — AFP

BATHED in the fluorescent light of a sparse basement in Syria’s war-torn Aleppo city, young boys pummel red punching bags under the close supervision of a former national boxing champion.

The rhythmic sound of gloves at Shahba boxing club can at times drown out the blasts of air strikes and shelling coming from eastern parts of the city.