Saudi Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi recalls golden year after success at Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi continues to make history.

Last week, the karate champion dominated a strong field to take gold in the 75 kg kumite competition at the fifth Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey.

The triumph came almost exactly a year after his silver at Tokyo 2020, when he was only denied gold after a controversial disqualification in the final against Iran’s Sajjad Ganjzadeh.

Arab News met Hamdi to discuss his latest win and recall those memorable, career-defining days in Tokyo.

Congratulations Tarek, tell us about your achievement and the tournament in general.

Praise be to God, I achieved a gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey. It is a great achievement, and I am certainly proud and honored to raise the flag of the Kingdom at this tournament, where I hadn’t won before.

This is the second time that I participated in the Islamic Solidarity Games. In 2017, I took part in Baku, Azerbaijan, but did not achieve any success, and this time I was determined  to win gold. I managed to win in the 84 kg weight division to complete the set of medals at the international competitions I’ve taken part in.

This tournament in general is a very difficult and tough one, especially in karate. We had a target of five golds across the weight categories, but we only achieved a gold and two bronzes. I congratulate my brothers Sultan Al-Zahrani and Saud Al-Bashir on their success, and wish the best of luck to Faraj Al-Nashiri and Fahd Al-Khathami in the future.

Our achievement came thanks to the hard work and teamwork from everyone at the training camps of the Saudi Karate Federation and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and we will continue, God willing, to pursue more