World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won meets refugee athletes on the second day of the Tashkent 2026 World Taekwondo Junior Championships at Martial Arts Sports Complex in Olympic City, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Monday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan — They arrived from refugee camps in Jordan, hoping to test their skills against the world’s best young taekwondo competitors. At the Tashkent 2026 World Taekwondo Junior Championships, four athletes representing the World Taekwondo Refugee Team found themselves at the center of quiet attention — a reminder of how sport continues to reach across boundaries.
World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won with the athletes — Essa Mousa Alkhalaf (men’s -55 kilograms), Mahmoud Qasim Abukhshet (men’s -51 kilograms), Kafa Al Mubarak (women’s -55 kilograms) and Aya Morad Alahmad (women’s -68 kilograms) — and their coach, Ahmad Faisal Okaidat. Choue commended their progress and encouraged them to stay focused on their goals, emphasizing that discipline and persistence are what ultimately lead to success.
The Taekwondo Refugee Team is introduced during the opening ceremony of the Tashkent 2026 World Taekwondo Junior Championships at the Martial Arts Sports Complex in Olympic City, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Choue referred to Yahya Al Ghotani, a refugee athlete from the Azraq camp who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, as an example of how dedication can turn opportunity into achievement.
World Taekwondo Council Member and Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation Operations Director Maher Magableh, along with World Taekwondo Secretary General Seo Jeong-kang, also attended the meeting, reflecting the organization’s ongoing support for refugee athletes through the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation initiative.
The Taekwondo Refugee Team’s coach Lisa Vogt, right, encourages Nasim Mahmoudi in the women’s -46 kilogram round of 64 match on the first day of Tashkent 2026 World Taekwondo Junior Championships at Martial Arts Sports Complex in Olympic City, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
For the young team, competing in Tashkent is part of a wider journey — one that merges training with hope. Their presence at the championships symbolizes World Taekwondo’s continuing commitment to inclusion and to expanding access to sport for displaced communities around the world.
The Taekwondo Refugee Team at the 2026 Tashkent World Taekwondo Junior Championships includes four Syrian taekwondo athletes coming from Jordan and one Iranian based in Switzerland.