Asaf Yasur (; born 17 April 2002) is an Israeli Paralympic champion and world champion

para taekwondo Para taekwondo is an adaptation of taekwondo for disabled sportspeople. The sport's main governing body is World Taekwondo (WT). New disciplines such as ''kyorugi'' and ''poomsae'', both martial arts forms, have been developed for para-athletes. ...

athlete. He was world champion in both 2021 and 2023. He represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, and won the gold medal in the Men's 58 kg.

Early life

Yasur is from Jerusalem, Israel. He lost both his hands at age 12. He was trying to retrieve a lost ball, when he was accidentally

electrocuted Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

by a high-voltage electric cable and suffered injuries that required amputation."Israeli Paralympics athlete wins gold medal in taekwondo,"
''The Jewish Chronicle''.

Career

Yasur trains at the Sharabi Martial Arts club in

Ramla Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...

, Israel, coached by Israeli trainer Yechiam Sharabi.

2019–23

In 2019 Yasur gained his first international medal, achieving second place at the Mexico Para Taekwondo Open Championships. Yasur won the gold medal in the 2021 World Para-Taekwondo Championships in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. After winning the 2023 World Para Taekwondo Championships in Mexico, Yasur qualified for the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

2024–present; Paris Paralympics championship

He won a gold medal for Israel at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, competing at 22 years of age. He beat Turkey’s Ali Can Özcan 19-12 in the final of the men’s -58kg weight class. He said: "With everything my country is going through… this is the least I could do for my country," and that he hoped for the return of the hostages from Gaza, an end to the war, and for "all the soldiers to return home healthy and whole."

References

External links