Historic Achievement for AAU Graduate Zaid Mustafa: Winning Silver in Taekwondo at the Paris Olympics

Our AAU graduate, Zaid Mustafa, a member of the national Taekwondo team, achieved an impressive milestone on Thursday, August 9, 2024, by winning the silver medal in the under 68 kg weight category at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Zaid reached the final of the under 68 kg Taekwondo competition after defeating Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, Britain's Bradley Sinden. Earlier, Mustafa triumphed over the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist and reigning world champion, Turkey's Hakan Reçber, to advance to the semifinals. Before that, he defeated Brazilian athlete Pontes Edival and qualified for the Taekwondo quarterfinals at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In a commendable performance, Mustafa narrowly lost in the final to Ulugbek Rashitov, the Tokyo 2021 gold medalist and world number one, securing the silver medal. Professor Sari Hamdan, our President, and Dr. Maher Al-Hourani, Chairman of the Board of Directors at AAU, expressed their pride in this great achievement, congratulating Zaid Mustafa and highlighting the university's excellence through its students and graduates in sports and their accomplishments. They praised the outstanding athletic performance of graduate Zaid Mustafa. Due to his distinguished athletic performance, AAU awarded Zaid Mustafa a full scholarship in the Physical and Health Education program through the Olympic Preparation Center. It is worth noting that Zaid Mustafa was unable to attend his graduation ceremony this semester due to his participation in the Paris Olympics. However, he will be honored in a manner befitting a champion of Jordan and AAU upon his return to the homeland.