As the Jordanian men’s national football team were making their way to a historic runner-up finish in the Asian Cup, the country’s top taekwondo fighters spent time in Fujairah honing their skills ahead of this summer’s Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Fujairah Martial Arts Club hosted a training camp for several taekwondo national teams, including Jordan, Tunisia, Greece and Kazakhstan, bringing together some of the world’s most talented athletes under one roof for the kick off of the Olympic season.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallists Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi (-58kg), of Tunisia, and Saleh El Sharabaty (-80kg), of Jordan, were among those taking part, along with Jordanian 2018 Youth Olympics bronze medallist Zaid Kareem, who is currently ranked No 5 in the world in the -68kg category.
Kareem, 22, is the latest in a string of gifted Jordanians that has risen up the taekwondo ranks and populated podiums on the sport’s biggest stages over the past decade.
A silver medallist at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last October, Kareem looks primed for success in Paris this summer, where he hopes to add to Jordan’s growing medal haul in the sport.
In 2016, taekwondo fighter Ahmad Abughaush claimed Jordan’s first official medal at an Olympic Games by topping the podium in the -68kg division before El Sharabaty added a second medal five years later at Tokyo by claiming a silver medal.
Last year, Julyana Al Sadeq became the first Jordanian and Arab woman to top the world taekwondo rankings following her victory at the Saudi Grand Prix in December 2022.
All three are Paris-bound this summer.
“We train together every day, we practically live together. We’re not a team, we are family,” Kareem told The National following the conclusion of the team’s training camp in Fujairah.
“We are always at each other’s houses, and are together day and night training. Saleh’s medal in Tokyo gives me even more belief in myself because we train together all the time. So his silver medal was one of the biggest incentives for me to scoop many medals after Tokyo.”
Still a teenager at the time, Kareem didn’t go to the Tokyo Olympics but he exploded on to the scene in 2022, rising from No 38 to No 6 in the Olympic rankings.
“Ever since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ended, we have been under a lot of pressure, competing in so many events, and the goal was to qualify for the Paris Olympics directly via world ranking rather than go through continental qualifiers. So we competed in so many events,” he explained.
“I defeated so many great athletes in 2022, including all three medallists – gold, silver, and bronze – from the Tokyo Olympics. So that was very encouraging, and I proved to myself I belong among the best, and realised that I was capable of winning at this level.
“2023 was gruelling as well; a long season where every point mattered because many athletes were breathing down our necks in the rankings. So, thankfully, I qualified via ranking and I am much more relaxed now. I can just focus on training and camps from now until Paris.”
Kareem was first introduced to the sport aged five, when his father took him to a nearby taekwondo club so he could burn some energy away from the house.
It wasn’t until he was 14 and earning his first international medal in the cadets division that he realised he needed to take the sport more seriously. Three years later, Kareem made the podium at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires and he’s now ready to go even further this summer in Paris.
“The Youth Olympics, to this day, is one of the best events I’ve ever participated in,” reflects the Al Ahliyya Amman University student.
“Seeing athletes from all over the world in one place, in one Olympic Village, was such a great experience for me. And I was honoured to bring a medal to my country.
“The experience I got from the Youth Olympics will be very valuable to me when I go to Paris this summer, because I’ll have lived through a similar environment before. There’s always high pressure at an Olympics, so if you’ve been through something similar in the past, surely it’ll help.”
Kareem credits Jordan’s vibrant taekwondo scene for the kingdom’s success on the world stage. He says there are over 60 martial arts clubs across the country and there is a full calendar of competitions and training camps, which helps elevate the overall level of athletes.
National team coach Faris Al Assaf says a national Olympic training centre opened its doors in 2021, which boasts world-class facilities, including a hall dedicated to taekwondo, along with a gym, physio room, and everything an athlete needs.
“Our federation is very strong and they give great attention to taekwondo, which is practically a national sport in Jordan; we probably have more people doing taekwondo than playing football in the country,” said Al Assaf.
“We worked hard to make sure we had a full national team, not just one or two fighters. So we have competitors across all weight classes.
“We’ve had about 30 countries come for training camps in Jordan, from across all continents. We have developed a special Jordanian style in taekwondo, just like there is the Korean school and the Iranian school, now there is the Jordanian school in taekwondo.
“If you watch our athletes, you can identify a certain style associated with Jordanian fighters and the biggest nations in the sport now know they are in for a big fight if they are facing one of our competitors.
“Taekwondo switched to an electronic scoring system after the Beijing 2008 Olympics so we have merged both styles of play, from the old system and the new system, which means our athletes are more complete.”
For Kareem, taekwondo has provided an environment where he can be himself. The 22-year-old from Amman has a never-say-die attitude, and is confident in his chances in Paris this summer.
“When I am on the mat, I feel like I can impose my personality, and show who I am,” he said.
“Tight competitions make me really happy and it allows me to give my all and show what I’m made of. You get to mix with so many people from around the world in a sport like taekwondo so it helps you develop your personality, and improve your communication skills and how you deal with people.
“As Zaid, surrender is not part of my vocabulary, I always compete until the very last second. In so many of my fights, I secured the win in the last second. Because I never give up and I know the fight is never over until the referee says it’s over. I keep fighting until the final moments. Even when I’m way behind in the score, I always believe I can catch up.”
He added: “I have defeated the best in the world, so in my mind, nothing is impossible. I just need to stay focused and prepare well in these six months. The Olympics is all about the mental side, so I need to make sure I arrive in Paris in a good mental state. All I can do is give my best and hopefully a medal is within reach.”
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night. Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning. Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector. Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti withCoastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
