Ramallah, Palestine, March 17, 2024: Omar Hantouli entered the pages of history by winning Palestine its first ever berth in taekwondo at the Olympic Games.
Hantouli won a Paris 2024 Olympics quota by emerging triumphant at the Asian qualification tournament in Tai’an, China on Saturday, March 16.
One of three Palestinians who competed in the qualifying event, Hantouli entered the men’s -58kg class event ranked fifth, but out-performed opponents from the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia to book a historic qualifying berth at the Olympics.
His outstanding performance was joyously welcomed by Dr. Bashir Abdel Gawad, President of the Palestine Taekwondo Federation who said Hantouli had showcased the Palestinian cause to the world.
Dr. Gawad also thanked the Palestine Olympic Committee and its President Jibril Rajoub for supporting the national taekwondo team in its Olympic campaign.
Hantouli, Ahmed Bahloul (-68kg) and female athlete Mayar Kabha (-49kg), had trained in Kazakhstan, Jordan and Egypt prior to competing in the qualification tournament.
