The Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation has celebrated a further five students from the Azraq refugee camp who have become a 1st Dan Black Belt ©THF

The Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF) has celebrated a further five students from the Azraq refugee camp who have become a 1st Dan Black Belt.

All five passed their test at the Azraq Taekwondo Academy’s Prince Rashid Bin El Hassan Hall in Jordan’s capital Amman.

This brings the total number of participants proving taekwondo mastery there to eight.

Among the new graduates are two females, sisters Asma and Rayan Al Sulayman,

It marks a first for both Azraq Taekwondo Academy and for all THF academies in refugee camps.

The siblings are joined by Mohammed Al Sulayman, Oaqla Aljasm and Mahmoud Turki.

The development comes just after the one-year anniversary of the construction of the Azraq Taekwondo Academy.

"The new graduates have set the bar high, but with the amount of talent and ambition in Azraq Academy, there are high hopes for the future with most likely new black belts to be expected later in the year," a THF statement read.

The development comes just after the one-year anniversary of the construction of the Azraq Taekwondo Academy ©THF
The development comes just after the one-year anniversary of the construction of the Azraq Taekwondo Academy ©THF

Azraq Taekwondo Academy’s coach, Asif Sabbah, who has been training all the students from day one, added: "The judge greatly admired their performance and specifically called on Mohammed Al Sulayman to ask him where he trains and how his movements were so sophisticated.

"I am very happy with them and this achievement coincides with the first anniversary of the opening of the Academy.

"This achievement is for all of the individuals who contributed and share the happiness of the participants."

Sabbah is already encouraging the newly-promoted black belts to assist in leading training sessions and helping their peers to progress on their taekwondo journeys.

"The Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation would like to thank in particular His Royal Highness, Prince Rashid bin El Hassan, and the Jordan Taekwondo Federation, for exempting the Academy’s students of the black belt examination fees," the THF statement added.

"A big thank you also goes to THF supporters and contributors worldwide, without whom this achievement would not have been possible."

The three other black belts to have come through the THF system are Abed Al Karim Ehsan Khalil, Wael Al-Farraj and Yayha Al-Ghoutani.

The THF has been a priority for World Taekwondo following a successful launch by President Chungwon Choue at the United Nations headquarters in New York City in September 2015.