Fares Badawi Explained

Fares Badawi
Nationality:Palestinian
Birth Date:25 July 1996
Birth Place:Damascus, Syria
Hometown:Yarmouk, Damascus, Syria
Alma Mater:TU Braunschweig
Height:1.78 m
Spouse:Fatima Saleh
Country:IJF Refugee Team (2019–2022)
(2023–present)
Weight Class:−73 kg (2019–2021)
−81 kg (2022–present)
Club:ASC 1846 Göttingen
Braunschweiger Judo Club
Turnedpro:2019
Coach:Gottfried Hahn, Florian Hahn (club)
Thaer Al-Natsha (national team)
Olympics Rank:R32
Olympics Year:2024
Olympics Weight:Men's 81 kg
Worlds Rank:R32
Worlds Year:2022
Worlds Weight:Men's 81 kg
Regionals Type:AS
Regionals Rank:R32
Regionals Year:2023
Regionals Weight:Men's 81 kg
Regionals Year2:2024
Ijf:54298
Ji:118112
Updated:30 July 2024

Fares Badawi (Arabic: فارس بدوي, pronounced as /apc/;[1] born 25 July 1996) is a Palestinian judoka who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Early and personal life

Badawi was born in Damascus, Syria, to Ndal and Amera Badawi, children of Palestinian refugees from Tarshiha who were expelled in 1948. He grew up in the Yarmouk refugee camp with his parents and three siblings (Fadi, Hamza and Obada).[1] [2] [3] At the age of 9, following his oldest brother, he started practising judo at the Arab Palestinian Club in Yarmouk, coached by Mohamed Al-Nimr. He also claims to have been inspired by Korean Olympic medallist An Chang-rim.[1] [3]

In 2015, Badawi and his family fled the Syrian civil war for Germany, settling in Braunschweig, where he lives .[1] [2] [3] Besides his native Arabic, he speaks German and English. he is pursuing a master's degree in civil engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig.[1]

Badawi is a practicing Muslim. He is married to Fatima Saleh.[1]

Career

After moving to Germany, Badawi joined the ASC 1846 Göttingen[1] and started competing in national German tournaments, winning a gold medal at the HT 16 Open in Hamburg in 2017, as well as a silver medal and two bronze medals in other competitions.[4]

He made his international debut as part of the IJF Refugee Team at the 2019 Judo Grand Prix Budapest, Hungary, and then competed in the 73 kg category at the 2019 World Judo Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[1] He competed in the 2020 Judo Grand Slam Paris and 2020 Judo Grand Slam Düsseldorf.[4] He went on to take part in the 2021 and 2022 World Championships, where he finished 33rd in the 73 kg category and 17th in the 81 kg category, respectively. In 2023, he first represented Palestine at the 2023 European Open in Madrid, Spain, then in the 90 kg category at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and at the 2024 Asian Championships in Hong Kong.[1]

In 2024, Badawi was assigned a universality spot to represent Palestine at the Summer Olympics in Paris, France, in the 81 kg category; he was eliminated by Tajik Somon Makhmadbekov during the round of 32.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BADAWI Fares. Paris 2024. International Olympic Committee. 30 July 2024.
  2. Web site: Saifi. Zeena. Gaza war weighs heavy on the minds of Palestinian Olympians: 'I want to be an inspiration'. CNN. 26 July 2024. 30 July 2024.
  3. Web site: Diab. Door Omar. Voortman. Matthijs. 'Ik wil de mensen in Gaza blij maken', Fares is op de Spelen voor Palestina. nl-NL. RTL Nieuws. RTL Nederland. 30 July 2024. 30 July 2024.
  4. Web site: Fares Badawi. JudoInside.com. 30 July 2024.