Al-Jafar makes Karate history
Oct 29, 2023
Mohammad Al-Jaafar has become the first Jordanian to win a medal at a senior Karate World Championships after claiming a bronze medal in Budapest, Hungary.
Al-Jaafar’s historic win came in the -84kg category after he defeated Japan’s Rikito Shimada, 8-5.
He has been in brilliant form, starting his campaign with a win over Kenya’s Christopher Amboah, and then defeating North Macedonia’s Petar Spasenovski.
His dominating displays continued in the last 16 with a win over Turkey’s Ugur Aktas, but his winning run ended against Serbia’s Mahdi Khodabakhshi, who went on to reach the final, meaning that Al-Jaafar moved on to compete for the bronze medal division.
There, he beat Bosnia’s ‘Mehir’ to book his all-or-nothing bout with Rikito.
Jordan’s hopes of a bronze double were dashed when Afif Ghaith lost his -67kg bronze medal match against Uzbekistan’s Amirali Didar.
Meanwhile, the men’s team will compete in the final against Egypt tomorrow, Sunday, after beating Kosovo, Italy, Slovakia and Azerbaijan without dropping a single point.
Al-Jaafar’s historic win came in the -84kg category after he defeated Japan’s Rikito Shimada, 8-5.
He has been in brilliant form, starting his campaign with a win over Kenya’s Christopher Amboah, and then defeating North Macedonia’s Petar Spasenovski.
His dominating displays continued in the last 16 with a win over Turkey’s Ugur Aktas, but his winning run ended against Serbia’s Mahdi Khodabakhshi, who went on to reach the final, meaning that Al-Jaafar moved on to compete for the bronze medal division.
There, he beat Bosnia’s ‘Mehir’ to book his all-or-nothing bout with Rikito.
Jordan’s hopes of a bronze double were dashed when Afif Ghaith lost his -67kg bronze medal match against Uzbekistan’s Amirali Didar.
Meanwhile, the men’s team will compete in the final against Egypt tomorrow, Sunday, after beating Kosovo, Italy, Slovakia and Azerbaijan without dropping a single point.
