Under the supervision of coach Asif Sabah, who trains young Syrian refugee taekwondo athletes and runs the THF Center in Azraq, Jordan, 100 young boys and girls practise taekwondo every day, reaching both genders equally. So far, 500 refugee children have experienced taekwondo in the camp, with 80 achieving 1st dan black belt and 20 reaching 2nd dan black belt. Recently, the THF Azraq Refugee Team has started to compete at the national level in Jordan, participating in two tournaments (Al Fares Taekwondo Championships and the Brave Championships) in Amman. The team, made up of 20 athletes, won 13 medals and was awarded the first place cup in the men's category after THF icons Wael Al-Farraj and Yehya Al-Ghotani won gold medals at the Brave Championships. Both are now preparing for Paris 2024. 

Despite the difficult realities, Azraq's young refugee athletes continue to hone their kicks, train their bodies and minds every day and most importantly, find joy in the process. Such is the case with the six members of the Al-Ayoub family, who were driven from a rural village in their native Syria to neighbouring Jordan at the outbreak of the civil war. Muhammad Al-Ayoub, 45, works at the camp's Taekwondo Center as an assistant to coach Asif Sabah, the father, who recently completed his 3rd Dan black belt level together with Yehya Al-Ghotani and attended a referee training course run by the Jordanian Taekwondo Federation.

The first member of the family to learn taekwondo was the eldest daughter, Shaima, who is now 18 years old and hopes to study medicine. Since she started training at the camp's centre in 2016, the family has seen her physical and psychological wellbeing improve, learning patience, discipline and positivity through training. His 16-year-old son, Othman, also said taekwondo has promoted his older sister's physical and mental well-being and taught her sportsmanship. His younger brother, Rema, is an ambitious 12-year-old with a second dan black belt in taekwondo, who is in the process of completing his studies. Rema aspires to be an Olympic taekwondo competitor and an international coach and referee. His younger sister Doaa, 8, is a child prodigy in taekwondo who became the youngest refugee taekwondo practitioner to earn her first dan black belt in 2021 at the age of six. She earned her second dan at the age of 8. 

Although her mother does not practice martial arts, she is the "unknown soldier who stands behind every member of our family," her father said. She fully supports the family's sporting commitments, organising the children's study and training schedules and encouraging them to discipline their minds and bodies. The Al-Ayoub family are among the hundreds of Syrian refugees training in taekwondo at the Humanitarian Sports Centre in Azraq camp, supported by Dr Chungwon Choue, President of World Taekwondo (WT) and the THF. The centre aims to spread the Olympic values of peace and courage and to empower refugees and displaced people through sport.