Last year, Julyana Al Sadeq became the first Jordanian and Arab woman to top the world taekwondo rankings after winning the Saudi Grand Prix in December 2022. Finally, Jordan's 2018 Youth Olympic bronze medallist Zaid Kareem, who is currently ranked fifth in the world in the -68kg category, won silver at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. 

El Sharabaty, Al Sadeq and Kareem are preparing for Paris 2024 as they have already qualified through the rankings. "We train together every day, we practically live together. We're not a team, we're a family," Kareem told The National. 

Kareem exploded onto the scene in 2022, rising from 38th to sixth in the Olympic rankings. "We are always at each other's houses and train together day and night training. Saleh's medal in Tokyo makes me believe in myself even more because we train together all the time. So his silver medal was one of the biggest incentives for me to win a lot of medals after Tokyo."

"Since the end of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, we were under a lot of pressure because we competed in so many events, and the goal was to qualify directly for the Paris Olympics through the world rankings, rather than going through continental qualifiers. So we competed in so many events," he told The National. 

"I beat so many great athletes in 2022, including all three medallists - gold, silver, and bronze - from the Tokyo Olympics. It was very encouraging, and proved to myself that I was one of the best and realised that I was capable of winning at this level. 

2023 was also gruelling; a long season where every point mattered because there were a lot of athletes breathing down our necks in the rankings. Luckily I qualified through the rankings and I am much more relaxed now. I can just focus on training and camps from now until Paris," he added.

Kareem finished on the podium at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. "The experience I gained at the Youth Olympic Games will be very valuable to me when I go to Paris this summer, because I've been in a similar environment before. There's always a lot of pressure at the Olympics, so if you've been through something like that in the past, surely it will certainly help," he stressed. 

"I have beaten the best in the world, so nothing is impossible in my mind. I just have to stay focused and prepare well for six months. The Olympics are all about the mental side, so I have to make sure I arrive in Paris in a good mental state. All I can do is give my best and hopefully a medal will be within reach," concluded the young athlete.