News Desk |
Pakistan’s eight-year-old Ayesha Ayaz– the youngest player ever to present a country in any international event– grabbed a bronze medal as she landed at seventh spot in the 7th Open Taekwondo Championship in the United Arab Emirates. She clinched the bronze medal in the 27- kilogram category.
UAE based Pakistani player Sinan Ashfaq Ahmed secured a gold medal and Egypt’s Mohamed Aly took the silver medal and Abdulla Ahmed Ibrahim Mohamed of the UAE and Arifullah Khan of Pakistan won the bronze.
The Pakistan team won two gold medals, one silver medal, and two bronze medals. A total of 1257 players from 40 countries participated in the championship which proved to be the biggest ever international taekwondo event held in the region.
Sinan is the first Pakistani expatriate in UAE to win the international gold medal for the country. He dedicated his win to Pakistan. He said that with the help of Pakistan Taekwondo Federation he will continue to win the medals for the country at every international Taekwondo competitions. “My next big target is World Cadet Championship this year,” he said.
Other Pakistani who won medals are Mohammad Danish who got the gold medal in the youth category, also Taimur Syed won a silver medal in the youth category. While Arafallah Khan and Ayesha Ayaz won the bronze medal. “We are very pleased that our players are performing well at the international level, thanks to the intensive training programmes,” said the Colonel (r) Wasim Ahmed Janjua, President of the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation.
The UAE players topped the list with 35 gold medals. Uzbekistan ended second with 7 gold medals while Kazakhstan slightly behind ended third with six gold medals. Children from Sharjah Sports Club shined with 15 gold, 10 silvers and 7 bronze medals in children, cadet and youth categories.
Read more: Sports narrative of Pakistan
The event was held between February 1st to 3rd. Pakistan’s 21 players participated in the event. The Pakistan team won two gold medals, one silver medal, and two bronze medals. A total of 1257 players from 40 countries participated in the championship which proved to be the biggest ever international taekwondo event held in the region.