Abu Ghaush secures place at Rio Games

AMMAN — Taekwondo star Ahmad Abu Ghaush has secured his qualification to this summer’s Olympic Games to become the second Jordanian guaranteed a place at Rio de Janeiro, according to the Jordan Olympics Committee News Service.

The 20-year-old beat Thailand’s Sila Peertheb 12-1 in the semifinal to book his place as the two finalists qualify. He then crushed Mongolia’s Temuujin Purevjav 14-2 to win the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament’s gold medal.

Jordan Olympic Committee Secretary General Lana Al Jaghbeer, was one of the first to congratulate him with a message from HRH Prince Feisal, JOC president, who also congratulated the Jordan Taekwondo Federation.

Abu Ghaush joined boxer Hussein Ishaiash in the team. He won his place for Rio earlier this month. While it was celebrations for Abu Ghaush, it was heartbreak for three of his teammates who lost in the semifinals.

Julyana Al Sadeq lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan’s Nigora Tursunkulova, while Anas Al Adarbi came painfully close, losing his match by just one point to Nikita Rafalovic of Uzbekistan 5-4. Teammate Bana Daraghmi lost in the last four to eventual gold medallist Huang Huai-Hsuan of Taiwan.