Tarek Hamdi Finally Wins Karate Gold After Olympic Snub
The viral Olympic knockout artist, Tarek Hamdi, has found redemption after being disqualified from the Olympic Games for the sensational head kick finish in Tokyo this summer. Hamdi found himself disqualified by a referee’s decision that said his kick was deemed an “unchecked attack” and gave his opponent the gold as he was celebrating his win. Now, Hamdi has won gold at the Asian Karate Championship in Kazakhstan.
Tarek Hamdi found himself in a peculiar situation. In the Olympic Games, he faced Sjjad Ganjzadeh of Iran, of which we know he was disqualified. In the gold medal match of the Asian Karate Championships, Hamdi fought Saleh Abazari, also of Iran. Luckily, there was no drama for Hamdi and he managed to take home the gold medal.
Tarek Hamdi and The Chase of Gold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1HQDP-tkxo
Tarek Hamdi broke the internet with arguably the most viral clip of the entire Olympic Games with his knockout of Ganjzadeh. While the knockout was great, it was the snub of gold that made the clip go viral. The Saudi national took the loss in stride and went back home with the silver medal, a great accomplishment still. The drama is furthered when the score was tallied and Hamdi was up 4-1.
There was much backlash for Hamdi with cries for racism, match fixing and more. There was likely no foul play and was a heat of the moment decision for the referee which was a mistake.
But now, Hamdi has gold to put around his neck, and the win is seen as a homecoming for the People’s Olympic Champion. Hamdi will not get the chance for redemption in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Karate was removed from the Olympic programme, destined to be a one and done for Tokyo.
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