25/05/2026
Since 1998, the two greatest Taekwondo athletes in Syria have finally met again.
I also deeply miss the time I spent together with all of you.
I still remember the days when we trained three to four times a day. Every morning at 6 a.m., we gathered at Tishreen Stadium and focused on building our basic stamina by running 200-meter sprints. Those memories are still vivid in my mind.
And Ahmad Nori won a medal at the Pan Arab Taekwondo Championship held in Jordan in 2000 after defeating one of Egypt’s top athletes. In fact, at that time, Syrian Taekwondo had existed for only about twiyears half.
Also, Diaa al dah achieved excellent results at the World Military Championship and the Asian Taekwondo Championships. You were truly outstanding Taekwondo athletes. If you had continued training, you could even have competed in the Olympic Games.
Especially Diaa Aldah , I still remember when you were on your way to the airport to participate in the Asian Olympic qualification tournament, but the Syrian Sports Federation stopped your participation and you had to turn back before boarding the flight. Do you remember that? At that time, there were even political attempts within the Syrian sports authorities to prevent Syrian athletes coached by a Korean trainer from achieving success in international Taekwondo competitions.
Nevertheless, all of you became athletes who will remain in the history of Syrian Taekwondo.
From Korean coach John sang ho 🙏
Ahmad Nouri
