Israeli competitor Asaf Yasur won the gold medal at the World Para Taekwondo Championships held in Istanbul on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Yasur, who lost both his arms below the elbow six years ago, paved his way to victory over a Turkish rival in the men’s under 58kg category. He won the medal by defeating Qli Can Ozcan by 57-42 points.
“I still haven’t absorbed it,” Yasur said after his victory, noting that he had faced five different competitors during the day to win the final. In the semi-finals, he defeated the European champions.
Yasur said, “I am happy, and the path I have chosen, for the medal and I am the happiest for this crazy day.”
Culture and Sports Minister Chile Trooper congratulated Yasur on his achievement, saying in a statement that he is “an amazing young man for whom the sky is the limit.”
Yasur once again showed that “he is a gift to the country when he took the gold medal” which led to the playing of the national anthem, Hatikwa, Trooper wrote.
Our Champion ????????: Asaf Yasur won the gold medal at the World Championships. Watch and share anthems on the go pic.twitter.com/7WdnX3WgDm
— Oren Aharoni (@Oren_Aharoni) December 11, 2021
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted that Yasur is “not only a source of immense national pride for our country, but also a reminder that willpower can take you to the highest peaks.”
Although Yasur did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year, his victory in Istanbul has set him on his way to becoming a strong candidate for the Paris Games in 2024.
Israel Taekwondo Federation general secretary Noah Shmeida also hailed Yasur’s “amazing achievement”.
“We are very proud,” Schmida said in a statement reported by Channel 12 News. “Asaf has been identified by the Taekwondo Federation as having great potential for medals at major competitions, the World Championships and the Paralympic Games in Paris.”
Asaf Yasur competes at the World Para Taekwondo Championships on December 11, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Israel Taekwondo Federation)
When Yasur was only 13 years old, he was injured when he played football with some friends.
His ball was kicked at the establishment of an electric company near his home in northern Israel.
Yasur climbed inside to retrieve the ball, but lost his balance as he came out. He grabbed a high-voltage cable to immobilize himself, and the resulting shock resulted in injury that resulted in amputation of both hands at the elbow.
Asaf Yasur at the World Para Taekwondo Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, December 11, 2021. (Israel Taekwondo Federation)
In his later years he was determined to adopt a sport that only required the use of his legs, deciding on the Korean martial art of taekwondo because of the focus on legwork, which he reported to the Ynet news site in 2019. Told.
After his story was covered by the media, members of the public raised NIS 1 million in donations (about $250,000 at the time) to equip him with two artificial bionic weapons that he controls via brain signals.
Taekwondo has gained popularity in Israel in recent years with businessman Avishag Samberg Victory An Olympic bronze medalist earlier this year.