Omar Yaser Ismail

Omar Yaser Ismail
Personal information
Birth nameOmar Yaser Abdel Qader Ismail Hantoli
NationalityPalestinian
Born (2005-11-03) 3 November 2005 (age 19)
Sharjah or Dubai, United Arab Emirates[1][2]
Home townSharjah, United Arab Emirates
Sport
Country Palestine
SportTaekwondo
Weight class
  • −58 kg
  • −63 kg
Medal record
Men's taekwondo
Representing  Palestine
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Sofia 59 kg

Omar Yaser Abdel Qader Ismail Hantoli[3][4][a] (Arabic: عمر ياسر عبد القادر إسماعيل حنتولي; born 3 November 2005),[6] known as simply Omar Yaser Ismail or Omar Hantoli,[6][7][a] is a Palestinian taekwondo practitioner. He qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the −58 kg division.

Early life

Yaser Ismail was born in the United Arab Emirates to Palestinians from the West Bank town of Jenin, who had settled in Sharjah in 2003, and was raised in his birth country. He started taekwondo between the ages of 9 and 10, training in Sharjah, and was competing in international competitions by the time he was 12 years old.[1][2][3]

Career

Yaser Ismail won a bronze medal at the Cadet World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in August 2019.[8] He competed at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey. He won a bronze at the 2022 World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, in August 2022.[9] He competed at the Senior World Championships in 2022 and 2023,[10] and in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

In March 2024, competing at the 2024 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tai'an, China, in the −58 kg category, Yaser Ismail won the Olympic qualification and competed in the category at the 2024 Olympics for Palestine, becoming not only the first Palestinian taekwondo athlete to earn a qualification place at the Olympic Games, but the first in any combat sport.[5][7][11][12] At the event, he was eliminated in the round of 16, ultimately ranking 11th.[6] Yaser Ismail served as national flagbearer at the closing ceremony alongside swimmer Valerie Tarazi.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Also romanized as Hantouli.[3][5]

References

  1. ^ a b Samaha, Albert (24 July 2024). "He's 18, a taekwondo prodigy — and Palestine's best medal hope". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b Petrequin, Samuel (20 July 2024). "For Palestinian Athletes, The Olympics Is About More Than Sports". Associated Press. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Palestine Olympic Committee [@pal_olympic] (5 August 2024). "لاعب منتخبنا الوطني للتايكواندو عمر حنتولي، المتوج بذهبية بطولة آسيا، يمثّل فلسطين في دورة الألعاب الأولمبية باريس 2024" (in Arabic and English). Retrieved 6 August 2024 – via Instagram.
  4. ^ "Palestinian national Taekwondo player wins gold medal in Asia open International Championship". Wafa. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Hero Hantouli wins Palestine historic taekwondo quota at Olympic Games". Olympic Council of Asia. 17 March 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "YASER ISMAIL Omar". Paris 2024. IOC. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  7. ^ a b "لاعب منتخبنا الوطني للتايكواندو عمر حنتولي يحجز بطاقة تأهل تاريخية لأولمبياد باريس" (in Arabic). Wafa. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Uzbekistan, Russia, Iran and USA win gold on day three of World Taekwondo Cadet Championships". World Taekwondo. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Clean sweep for Korea on day 3 of Sofia 2022 World Taekwondo Junior Championships". 4 August 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  10. ^ Khalatyan, Rafael (19 March 2024). "Palestine's Omar Ismail "one step closer to an Olympic medal"". Inside the Games. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  11. ^ "First-ever Palestinian Athlete Qualifies for Olympic Taekwondo Competition". World Taekwondo. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  12. ^ "'Making History' – First Palestinian to Qualify for Olympics in Combat Sport". Palestinian Chronicle. March 18, 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  13. ^ Braidwood, Jamie (11 August 2024). "Every Olympic flagbearer for Paris 2024 closing ceremony including Alex Yee and Katie Ledecky". The Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2024.