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The national taekwondo team continues its intensive training in preparation for participating in the fourth edition of the Youth Olympic Games, which will be hosted by the Senegalese capital, Dakar, from October 31 to November 13.
The national team will be represented in the games by four male and female athletes: Layan Al-Rawashdeh, Zainab Basila, Abdullah Al-Zawahreh, and Ahmed Al-Dahamsha, under the supervision of technical director Fares Al-Assaf and coach Mohammed Al-Assaf.
Taekwondo competitions are scheduled to begin on November 8 and continue until November 12, with national team athletes participating in both individual and mixed team events.
The national team's technical director, Fares Al-Assaf, confirmed that the team has intensified its preparations over the past months, aiming to reach the highest levels of technical and physical readiness before the start of the competitions.
Al-Assaf said: "We seek to continue the series of achievements attained by Jordanian taekwondo at various levels, especially in the Youth Olympic Games. We have worked over the past months to intensify training and raise the readiness level of the athletes, and we look forward to delivering distinguished performances and competing for medals in Dakar."
Al-Assaf added that participating in the Youth Olympic Games represents an important milestone in the athletes' careers and an opportunity to gain more international experience and interact with elite young talents from around the world.
Jordanian taekwondo looks to boost its medal tally in the Youth Olympic Games, having successfully won three medals in its previous participations: Dana Haidar won a silver medal and Yazan Al-Sadiq won a bronze medal in the first edition held in Singapore in 2010, while Zaid Mustafa was crowned with a bronze medal in the 2018 Buenos Aires edition.
Meeting with the delegation
The Olympic Committee held a meeting for the delegation participating in the games.
Jordan will be represented in these games by 13 athletes competing in 8 sports: Taekwondo, boxing, swimming, beach wrestling, athletics, fencing, triathlon, and judo.
This participation is the largest for Jordan in the history of the Youth Olympic Games in terms of the number of sports, while the number of athletes equals the record set in the 2018 Buenos Aires edition.
The Secretary-General of the Olympic Committee, Rana Al-Saeed, welcomed the members of the delegation, wishing them success in their upcoming participation and urging them to exert maximum efforts to represent Jordan in the best possible way and reflect an honorable image of Jordanian sports in this major Olympic forum.
For his part, the head of the Jordanian delegation, Dr. Laith Khairy, reviewed the most prominent administrative and organizational instructions related to the participation, travel, and accommodation procedures, emphasizing the importance of adhering to instructions and cooperation among all delegation members to ensure the best conditions for the athletes during their participation in the games.
The meeting also included a review of medical instructions, as well as awareness regarding anti-doping and mental preparation, emphasizing the importance of adhering to instructions that ensure the integrity of competitions and the safety of athletes.
It is noteworthy that Jordan participated in the three previous editions of the Youth Olympic Games and succeeded in winning three medals—one silver and two bronze—all in the sport of taekwondo.
The Youth Olympic Games – Dakar 2026 are expected to witness the participation of about 2,700 athletes from all over the world, competing in 25 sports, in the first Olympic event hosted by the African continent.
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