delivery time2023-06-01 17:00
Syria’s al-Gothani smiles after knocking out a round of 64
“If you don’t give up and try hard, one day the wall will open”
Syrian refugee taekwondo player Ehya Al Gothani (left) shakes hands with World Taekwondo Federation (WT) President Cho Jeong-won at the Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan where the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships will be held. [세계태권도 연맹 제공. 재배포 및 DB금지]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Kyung-yoon = Syrian refugee player Ehya Al Gothani (20), who competed in the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships, expressed his gratitude, saying that Taekwondo has made him a stronger and wiser person .
“Taekwondo has taken me to another level,” said Al Gothani, meeting with reporters at the Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the competition was held on the 30th (local time). We’ll do our best until we catch him.”
He added, “My role model is Lee Dae-hoon (currently the coach of the Korean national team), and I want to grow like Lee Dae-hoon.”
Al-Gothani crossed the border from Syria to Jordan with his parents at the age of eight.
Afterwards, he lived in a tent in the Azraq refugee camp in Jordan and moved to a caravan. At the moment, his parents and six siblings (4 males and 2 females) live in two caravans.
Al Gothani joined a taekwondo dojo through a friend’s introduction in 2017, fell in love with the charm of taekwondo, and earned a black belt within eight months of starting it.
Al-Gothani, who improved his skills, took part in this competition as part of a 13-member refugee team.
He took part in the men’s 63kg class on 1st and was eliminated in the round of 64, but he never lost his smile. He said, “If you don’t give up and work hard, the wall will open someday.”
The World Taekwondo Federation (WT) operates a project to support refugees through Taekwondo.
In 2016, WT president Jo Jung-won launched the non-profit Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF), and since then Taekwondo education has been held at Camp Azraq.
In 2018, the Humanitarian Taekwondo Center was established, where Al Gothani trained.
Currently, there are 6 countries including Camp Azraq, Mahama, Kiziba (above Rwanda), Kilis, El Bailey (above Turkey), Paris (France), Tijuana (Mexico), and Merlinza (Eswatini) 8 Taekwondo training is on in progress for refugee children at Gae Refugee Camp.
Among them, Azraq is a symbolic place. Currently, about 100 Al Gothani juniors are receiving taekwondo training, and a total of 70 practitioners have been produced so far.
biicio@yna.co.kr
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2023/06/01 17:00 Sent
