Saudi Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi takes karate gold at Islamic Solidarity Games

RIYADH: Saudi Olympic silver medalist Tarek Hamdi has claimed karate gold at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey.

He defeated Ismailov Qurban of Azerbaijan 10-4 in the final on Thursday night to take first place in the +84 kg kumite category.

Prince Fahd bin Jalawi, vice president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and head of the Kingdom’s delegation in Konya, watched the victory and congratulated Hamdi on his latest triumph.

Hamdi reached the final by beating Sen Fateh of Turkey 2-0 in the semi-final. Earlier in the day, the Saudi Olympic hero kicked off his campaign at the fifth Islamic Solidarity Games by overcoming Tunisia’s Ahmad Khader through a technical knockout. He followed that up with a 2-0 victory over Khalid Hassanain of Qatar in the quarter-final.

Last year, Hamdi came within seconds of winning gold at the delayed Tokyo 2020 games but had to settle for silver after he was disqualified for a kick to the head of Iranian opponent Sajad Ganjzadeh in the final.