Iraqi players win historic medals at youth table tennis tournament in Jordan

DHI QAR — Iraqi players Ithmar Aqeel and Elaf Salem won medals at the WTT Youth Contender Amman 2025, which concluded Aug. 18 in Jordan with athletes from 17 countries, including China, South Korea, Japan and India.

Aqeel took gold in the Under-13 girls’ singles, marking Iraq’s first-ever gold in an international table tennis tournament. “I won first place in the international table tennis tournament in Jordan, and I thank my father, coach Aqeel Jabbar, who supported me in training,” she said. “We fight through all the difficult conditions. All this came thanks to the encouragement of my family, the national team and the city of Nasiriyah.”

Salem, who earned bronze in the Under-11 category, said she is now preparing for the Arab Championship in Morocco. “I won third place in the Jordan tournament, and now I am preparing for the Arab Championship in Morocco,” she said. “I started playing at the age of 9, and when I turned 11, I won championships in Baghdad, Jordan and Sulaymaniyah.”

Coach Aqeel Jabbar, of the Specialized School for Table Tennis, called the win historic. “The gold medal is the first in the history of Iraqi table tennis,” he said. “In an international tournament like this, it is very difficult to achieve gold with countries like China, Korea, Japan and India participating. Praise be to God, we got the gold medal through Ithmar Aqeel. It is a great achievement for Iraqi sports, for Dhi Qar governorate, and especially for Nasiriyah city.”

He said financial challenges limited Iraq’s participation, with only three players competing instead of nine. Still, he said, their performance impressed other delegations. “We reached the podium, where the Iraqi national anthem was played for a 12-year-old player,” he said. The team is now training for the Arab Championship in Morocco on Sept. 10.