{"id":5295,"date":"2025-02-12T12:25:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T11:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=5295"},"modified":"2025-02-13T12:41:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T11:41:58","slug":"morocco-takes-third-place-behind-uae-and-tunisia-in-the-5th-arab-taekwondo-cup-a-disappointing-outcome-or-a-step-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/morocco-takes-third-place-behind-uae-and-tunisia-in-the-5th-arab-taekwondo-cup-a-disappointing-outcome-or-a-step-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco Takes Third Place Behind UAE and Tunisia in the 5th Arab Taekwondo Cup: A Disappointing Outcome or a Step Forward?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"165\" data-end=\"602\">The Moroccan national Taekwondo team secured third place in the 5th edition of the Arab Cup, held in Fujairah, UAE, from February 4 to 7, 2025. The tournament featured 1,542 participants from over 21 Arab nations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"165\" data-end=\"602\">While the Moroccan youth team claimed first place, the senior team finished in third position, with the cadets ranking fourth. In the overall team rankings, Morocco placed third behind Jordan (second) and Tunisia (first).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"165\" data-end=\"602\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"x1ejq31n xd10rxx x1sy0etr x17r0tee x6ikm8r x10wlt62\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ffedrmtaekwondo%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02z5fjHPbzPPpHV8j8ACLuRo34rzssqQVTcRig4UYwANvuiuJECQpeoL3badkCJ8Rsl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"659\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"604\" data-end=\"771\">This major Arab sporting event showcased a high technical level, featuring several Olympic medalists from the Paris 2024 Games. Morocco&#8217;s medal tally was as follows:<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"773\" data-end=\"800\"><strong data-start=\"778\" data-end=\"798\">Senior Category:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"801\" data-end=\"1043\">\n<li data-start=\"801\" data-end=\"879\"><strong data-start=\"803\" data-end=\"823\">Gold Medals (2):<\/strong> Farah Touzani (-46 kg) and Khadija Lamdrader (+73 kg)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"880\" data-end=\"960\"><strong data-start=\"882\" data-end=\"904\">Silver Medals (2):<\/strong> Mariam Khoulal (-57 kg) and Zakaria Lakhouir (+87 kg)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"961\" data-end=\"1043\"><strong data-start=\"963\" data-end=\"985\">Bronze Medals (2):<\/strong> Nouzha Al-Assal (-49 kg) and Haithem Zarghouti (-80 kg)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1045\" data-end=\"1072\"><strong data-start=\"1050\" data-end=\"1070\">Junior Category:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1073\" data-end=\"1388\">\n<li data-start=\"1073\" data-end=\"1267\"><strong data-start=\"1075\" data-end=\"1095\">Gold Medals (7):<\/strong> Ahmed Rahali (+78 kg), Omnia Jaber (-44 kg), Malak Shahid (-52 kg), Amina Dhahawi (-55 kg), Mariam Namis (-63 kg), Fatima Zahra Boudina (-68 kg), Aya Boumhamedi (+68 kg)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1268\" data-end=\"1342\"><strong data-start=\"1270\" data-end=\"1292\">Silver Medals (2):<\/strong> Boumah Ibrahim (-63 kg) and Ali Marjan (-51 kg)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1343\" data-end=\"1388\"><strong data-start=\"1345\" data-end=\"1366\">Bronze Medal (1):<\/strong> Reda Saket (-48 kg)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1390\" data-end=\"1416\"><strong data-start=\"1395\" data-end=\"1414\">Cadet Category:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1417\" data-end=\"1617\">\n<li data-start=\"1417\" data-end=\"1490\"><strong data-start=\"1419\" data-end=\"1439\">Gold Medals (2):<\/strong> Omayma Naqabi (-51 kg) and Samer Lamlah (-59 kg)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1491\" data-end=\"1572\"><strong data-start=\"1493\" data-end=\"1515\">Silver Medals (2):<\/strong> Nada Kenana (+59 kg) and Sami Youssef Dhahawi (-41 kg)<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1573\" data-end=\"1617\"><strong data-start=\"1575\" data-end=\"1596\">Bronze Medal (1):<\/strong> Saad Asha (-65 kg)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1619\" data-end=\"2035\">In total, Morocco won <strong data-start=\"1641\" data-end=\"1654\">21 medals<\/strong>: <strong data-start=\"1656\" data-end=\"1691\">11 gold, 6 silver, and 4 bronze<\/strong>. The championship concluded with an awards ceremony attended by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah, alongside key figures such as Chungwon Choue, President of the World Taekwondo Federation, Idriss Hilali, President of the Arab Taekwondo Federation, and Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, President of the UAE Taekwondo Federation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2037\" data-end=\"2274\">Additionally, <strong data-start=\"2051\" data-end=\"2068\">Idriss Hilali<\/strong>, a member of the World Taekwondo Federation and President of the Arab and Mediterranean Taekwondo Federations, was appointed as the technical delegate for this tournament by the International Federation.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2276\" data-end=\"2324\"><strong data-start=\"2280\" data-end=\"2322\">Analysis: A Victory or a Wake-Up Call?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2325\" data-end=\"2630\">Despite the impressive medal count, Morocco&#8217;s third-place ranking raises critical questions. How did Tunisia, a country with fewer resources and a smaller population than Morocco, surpass the national team? What factors contributed to this relative underperformance, and who bears responsibility for it?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2632\" data-end=\"3004\">One key issue is the <strong data-start=\"2653\" data-end=\"2729\">absence of the High-Level Sports Department at the Directorate of Sports<\/strong>, which should be actively involved in supporting and developing Moroccan athletes. The lack of effective long-term strategies in Moroccan sports governance is becoming increasingly evident, as the country struggles to maintain its dominance in major regional competitions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3006\" data-end=\"3373\">Moreover, Morocco\u2019s inability to compete with nations like Tunisia and Jordan suggests shortcomings in training programs, talent scouting, and investment in athletes. Should the Moroccan Taekwondo Federation reassess its development plans? Is it time to restructure the sports management system to avoid similar disappointments in future international competitions?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3375\" data-end=\"3538\">The road to recovery demands an in-depth evaluation, a well-defined action plan, and a commitment to strengthening Morocco&#8217;s position on the global sports stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Moroccan national Taekwondo team secured third place in the 5th edition of the Arab Cup, held in Fujairah, UAE, from February 4 to 7, 2025. The tournament featured 1,542 participants from over 21 Arab nations. While the Moroccan youth team claimed first place, the senior team finished in third position, with the cadets ranking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5295","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-taekwondo"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5295"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5297,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5295\/revisions\/5297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}