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Photo: AP
Ahmad Abu Ghosh wins fuirst firstOlympic medal for Jordan
Photo: AP

Abu Ghosh wins taekwondo gold

Ahmad Abu Ghosh, the sportsman reportedly born in the Israeli Arab town of Abu Ghosh, represented Jordan; he will be bringing back, not just Jordan's first medal, but a gold one at that.

Celebrations abound in the Abu Ghosh local council following the victory of the Jordanian Taekwondo fighter, Ahmad Abu Ghosh, who won Jordan's first ever Olympic medal. Not just any medal, but a gold medal. Abu Ghosh became a national hero of the Hashemite Kingdom and already received a call from King Abdullah, who told him, "I am very happy, as are all Jordanians."

 

 

Abu Ghosh residents watched and celebrated his win together with sweets. Cheers of joy were even heard from the mosque at the end of Friday prayers. Jawadat Ibrahim, owner of the "Abu Ghosh" restaurants, recounted how the Olympic medalist's grandparents moved from the village to Jordan decades ago and that Ahmad was born there. They remain in close contact with relatives in the village and come for extended stays each year. Ibrahim says, "There is a very large community from the village in Jordan and they are close to the King. It is a great honor for Abu Ghosh—we plan to celebrate him and his family, travel to Jordan to congratulate him and his family, together with villages nobles."

 

Celebrations erupt in Jordan following Abu Ghosh's win)    (צילום: רויטרס)

Celebrations erupt in Jordan following Abu Ghosh's win)   (Video: Reuters)

סגורסגור

שליחה לחבר

 הקלידו את הקוד המוצג
תמונה חדשה

שלח
הסרטון נשלח לחברך

סגורסגור

הטמעת הסרטון באתר שלך

 קוד להטמעה:

 

Ibrahim Mahmoud, from Abu Ghosh told Ynet, "his mother is my aunt, and we are all proud. We all followed and watched the competition. It is a great honor for Abu Ghosh. They no longer live here, but they come and visit occasionally."

 

Salim Jaber, former head of the council said, "It is a great honor and we are very proud. We will go there and congratulate him. He did great honor to the family of Abu Ghosh."

 

Ismail Othman said, "At night we all got together and watched the games. He won fight after fight and we celebrated. Tonight, there will also be a celebration. We visited here not too long ago. Abu Ghosh is not just hummus, there is also a gold medal here. A symbol of peace units the whole world, not just hummus." 

 

 

Abu Ghosh's family goes to pray following his win    (צילום: אלי מנדלבאום)

Abu Ghosh's family goes to pray following his win   (Video: Eli Mandelbam)

סגורסגור

שליחה לחבר

 הקלידו את הקוד המוצג
תמונה חדשה

שלח
הסרטון נשלח לחברך

סגורסגור

הטמעת הסרטון באתר שלך

 קוד להטמעה:

 

Iyad Ibrahim added, "I met Ahmad in Jordan at a wedding. He told me he was training. He is a good guy and very driven."

 

Abu Ghosh was marked from the beginning of the Rio Olympics as the one who might bring a medal to the Hashemite Kingdom. Even at night, news of Abu Ghosh making it to the finals of Taekwondo caused social network platforms to begin buzzing over the promise of a historic gold or silver medal. After his victory in the early hours of the morning over his Russian opponent, joy turned to euphoria with Jordan's first ever Olympic medal.

 

Ahmad Abu Ghosh (Photo: EPA) (Photo: EPA)
Ahmad Abu Ghosh (Photo: EPA)

 

Celebrations in Abu Ghosh (Photo: Amit Shaby) (Photo: Amit Shabi)
Celebrations in Abu Ghosh (Photo: Amit Shaby)

 

Queen Rania tweeted this morning in English and Arabic and summed up what a great year it has been for Jordan in the international arena. "From the Oscars to the Olympics," she tweeted, and went on to add, "You have made Jordan extremely happy with this tremendous achievement." The Crown Prince, Hussein, also posted a picture of Abu Ghosh with the Jordanian flag and said that it was an honorable Jordanian achievement.

 

Queen Rania's tweet
Queen Rania's tweet

 

Crown Prince Hussein tweets his congratulations
Crown Prince Hussein tweets his congratulations

 

Abu Ghosh won his earlier fights at the 68 kilogram level over opponents from Egypt and South Korea. In the semifinals, he beat the Spaniard Joel Gonzalez, who was the London gold medalist in 2012. He was beside himself with joy and celebrated with his flag and coach, just as a celebration on this stage should look.

 

In the finals against Alexey Denisenko, Abu Ghosh was unstoppable, winning 10-6, and going home a national hero with a gold medal around his neck. The excitement was evident in Rio, with one of the reporters cried on air from happiness.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.19.16, 17:40
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