Paris Games end as taekwondo secures Jordan’s sole medal

AMMAN — The 2024 Paris Olympic Games ended on Sunday, after two weeks of competition which included many new stories of determination and perseverance in addition to upsets and disappointments with athletes from countries around the globe.

Jordan’s delegation returns home with a silver medal by taekwondo’s Zaid Mustafa and now await the start of the Paralympic Games for better achievements.

Sports fans were anxiously awaiting the start of the taekwondo competition at the Games, with four qualifiers representing Jordan headed by two time qualifier and Tokyo Games silver medalist Saleh Sharabati and two-time Olympic qualifier Juliana Al Sadeq competing alongside first time qualifiers Mustafa and Rama Abul Rub.

This time, the veterans disappointed and it was Mustafa who put Jordan on the medals table when he won a silver in the under 68kg as Sharabati exited in the Round of 16 , while Al Sadeq moved to the quarterfinals but could not advance further. Rama Abul Rub was the last to play and exited the quarters.

Since first participating at the 1980 Olympics, taekwondo has so far earned Jordan three out of four Olympic medals ever won starting only in 2016 and 2020. At the 2016 Rio Games, then 20-year old Ahmad Abu Ghaush, the youngest competitor in taekwondo’s 68kg weight class, became the first taekwondo athlete in the Arab world to win gold and Jordan’s first ever Olympic medal. The Tokyo 2020 Games saw Saleh Sharabati win a silver in taekwondo, while Abdul Rahman Masatfeh clinched bronze as karate made its Olympic debut.

Earlier, there were three bronze medals at the 1988 Seoul Games by Samer Kamal and Ihsan Abu Sheikha, and at the 1992 Barcelona Games by Ammar Fahed. However, taekwondo was still considered an “exhibition sport” at the time.

In addition to the 4 qualifiers in taekwondo, Jordan’s delegation included five other qualifiers who were eliminated: three boxers (Hussein and Ziyad Ishaish, Obada Al Kasbeh), gymnast Ahmad Abu Saoud, and table tennis player Zaid Abu Yamen. The latter two were eliminated in the preliminary rounds while boxer Ziyad Ishaish lost in the quarterfinals while his two teammates three-time Olympic qualifiers, his sibling, Hussein Ishaish in addition to Obada Al Kasbeh were out in the Round of 16.

The delegation also included three wild card participants swimmer Amr Wirr and Karen Bilbeisi, who were eliminated in the preliminary rounds and marathon runner Muath Khawaldeh who ended the race at 65th.

The Paris Games marked Jordan’s 12th time at the Olympics. The 2024 Olympics featured 329 events in 32 sports, and the next Games is set for Los Angeles, the US in 2028.