Four medals for Sharjah Women’s Sports Clubs in their second international appearance of the 2026–2027 season
Sharjah Women’s Sports Clubs taekwondo athletes continued their strong international start to the 2026–2027 sports season, claiming four medals and the runner-up trophy in the Cadets category at the Swiss Open Taekwondo Championship 2026. The event marked their second international appearance of the season and reflected the continued technical development of athletes in the Cadets and Junior Women categories, as well as their growing ability to compete against different international styles.
The strongest results came in the Cadets category, where Noor Issa Al Shumaili of Sharjah Women’s Sports Club claimed gold in the -33kg category, while her teammate Majda Rashid Al Ketbi won gold at -51kg. Their performances helped the club secure the second-place trophy in the Cadets category, combining individual success with a strong overall team showing.
The podium results extended to the Junior Women category, where Shamma Mohammed Al Suwaidi of Sharjah Women’s Sports Club earned bronze at -55kg, while Rayan Najeeb Al Zaabi of Kalba Women’s Sports Club claimed bronze at -42kg, bringing the overall tally for Sharjah Women’s Sports Clubs to four medals.
The results carry additional significance in light of the work being carried out across Sharjah Women’s Sports Clubs through the Skill and Tactical Performance Development Initiative for Age-Group Athletes, which focuses on progressively raising athletes’ technical standards and developing their capabilities to prepare them for higher levels of competition.
The participation also carried added technical value given the relatively limited training experience of several athletes, who competed against more experienced opponents from established European taekwondo systems and still succeeded in securing strong podium finishes.
Commenting on the results, Abdullah Hatem, Taekwondo Technical Director at Sharjah Women’s Sports Clubs, said:
“The results achieved by the athletes in Switzerland are highly valuable for us because they reflect the continued work being done to develop age-group athletes through a clear and structured technical pathway. We do not treat each international participation as a separate event, but as part of an integrated athlete development process. These competitions allow us to assess progress, give athletes experience against different styles, and identify more precisely what each athlete needs in the next stage.
“Winning two gold medals and the runner-up trophy in the Cadets category, alongside two bronze medals in the Junior Women category, is a positive indication of the progress being made and of the athletes’ ability to translate what they gain in training into performance and results at international competitions.
“Our goal is for this development to continue from one age category to the next and to build a generation with the experience and technical quality required to compete at continental and international levels, within a long-term ambition that extends toward Olympic competition.”
The Swiss Open marked the second international taekwondo stop for Sharjah Women’s Sports Clubs at the start of the new season, following the Al Hassan International Taekwondo Championship in Jordan, where the athletes opened their international campaign with three medals — one silver and two bronze.
The early sequence of international competitions reflects a clear approach to giving athletes regular international exposure from the beginning of the season, allowing them to build competitive experience progressively and supporting the long-term development of the age-group pathway ahead of future competitions.
