Jordan's national taekwondo team enters the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games today with high ambitions. They aim to continue the Kingdom's record of achievement at Olympic events and add new medals to the sport's tally. The Games, hosted by the Senegalese capital Dakar, run until 12 November. They are historic, as this is the first edition of the Youth Olympics to be held on African soil.
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Jordan are represented in taekwondo by Layan Al-Rawashdeh in the under-55kg category, Zainab Bsaila in the under-63kg category, Abdullah Al-Zawahreh in the under-63kg category, and Ahmad Al-Dahamesheh in the under-73kg category. They are coached by technical director Fares Al-Assaf and coach Mohammad Al-Assaf, with hopes of positive results that reflect the development of Jordanian taekwondo and its standing on the international stage.
The draw has set the path for the national team's athletes. Today, Layan Al-Rawashdeh meets Senegal's Marie Sar in the quarter-finals, while Abdullah Al-Zawahreh faces Uruguay's Rodrigo Varieras da Silva in the round of 16.
Zainab Bsaila awaits the winner of the clash between Saudi Arabia's Ghram Mansour and Iran's Asal Goltabeh in the quarter-finals. Ahmad Al-Dahamesheh competes tomorrow, when he meets Turkey's Berk Erkan Imamoglu in the round of 16.
In the mixed team event, which takes place the day after tomorrow, the draw placed the national team against Senegal in the quarter-finals. The competition is historically significant, as it is the first time mixed teams will compete for Olympic medals in this format. Mixed team events were previously staged as demonstrations at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics.
The event gives the national team an extra opportunity to compete for a medal, with 28 athletes representing seven countries: Jordan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Senegal, Tunisia and Turkey. The format allows teams to compete together, away from individual events.
Jordan's current participation carries extra importance given the achievements of Jordanian champions at Olympic level. The Youth Olympics have been an important stage in the careers of several athletes who later competed for medals at the senior Olympic Games. Most notable among them are Dana Haidar, who won silver, and Yazan Al-Sadeq, who won bronze at the 2010 edition in Singapore. Zaid Karim then added a bronze medal at the 2018 Buenos Aires Games, followed by a silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This confirms Jordanian taekwondo's ability to produce champions capable of competing at the biggest sporting events.
Taekwondo competitions are being held at the Eba Diop complex, with 99 athletes taking part, 49 men and 50 women, representing 65 countries, as well as the Refugee Olympic Team. Competitors contest ten weight categories: five for women, under 44kg, 49kg, 55kg, 63kg and over 63kg, and five for men, under 48kg, 55kg, 63kg, 73kg and over 73kg. Bouts are decided on a best-of-three-rounds basis, with the winner being the first to take two rounds.
The Games feature some of the rising stars of world taekwondo, including five athletes who won gold medals at the World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Tashkent earlier this year. This reflects the high technical level expected in the competitions and adds to the event's importance as a showcase for promising talent.
Dakar 2026 also features the first Refugee Olympic Team in the history of the Youth Olympic Games, comprising six athletes. The move reinforces the values of diversity and inclusion that the Olympic movement embodies.
World Taekwondo has highlighted the importance of holding the competitions in Africa, saying the continent holds a special place in the sport's development strategy. It noted that taekwondo has featured at every Youth Olympic Games since the first edition in Singapore in 2010.
In terms of the number of medals on offer at the Games, taekwondo ranks third among sports, behind athletics and swimming, a sign of the prominence the sport enjoys at this historic edition.
Source: Al-Ghad. Reporting by: Ayman Wajih Al-Khatib
