Yesterday, national taekwondo team player Jaafar Al-Dawood won the bronze medal in the third leg of the Grand Prix hosted by the French capital, Paris, after losing to South Korea's Tae-joon Park in the semi-finals of the under-58 kg weight category, adding a new achievement to his record in international participations.
Al-Dawood began his campaign in the tournament by defeating Slovenia's Dominik Golubić 2-0, before overcoming Turkey's Furkan Kamoglu with the same result. He then continued his advance by getting past Greece's Aristidis Nikolaos 2-0 in the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals and secure a spot on the podium.
The bronze medal constitutes a new addition to Al-Dawood's record, having previously won a bronze medal at the Asian Games. Participation in the Paris leg also gives him an opportunity to boost his ranking points in the world rankings, as part of the qualification path for the 2028 Olympic Games.
For her part, Rama Abu Al-Rub exited from the round of 32 in the over-67 kg weight category, following her loss to South Korea's Lee Da-bin 2-0.
Meanwhile, Jordanian participation in this leg continues today as Zaid Al-Halawani, Zaid Mustafa, Fadia Kharfan, and Razan Al-Rawashdeh enter the competitions, while Saleh Al-Sharabaty will conclude the national team's participation tomorrow, Sunday.
The Paris leg is part of the six-star (G6) rated Grand Prix series, which brings together an elite group of the world's most prominent players and provides important points in the international rankings. The Olympic qualification system in taekwondo relies on players' rankings and accumulating points during the period preceding the Games, with the top six in the final world rankings qualifying directly to the Olympic Games, according to the approved system.
