From fighting boys to making Saudi Olympic history for female taekwondo star

ABHA – Saudi Arabia’s taekwondo standout Donia Abu Talib had an unusual introduction to the sport – for years she trained at a boys’ club because there were no girls to compete with.

Now the 27-year-old has become the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Olympics and is dreaming of bringing home the Gulf kingdom’s first gold medal when she competes in the 2024 Paris Games.

Though her smiling face today appears on posters and billboards, underscoring Saudi officials’ recent push to champion women’s athletics, the Jeddah native had much humbler beginnings.

“I started taekwondo when I was eight years old and there was no support like now,” said Abu Talib, who also has a law degree, after a recent training session in the mountain city of Abha.

“I always played with the boys in the boys’ centre... I used to wear a head covering so as not to show that I was a girl.”

Facing off against boys, she added, “made me strong and I love the challenge”.

For many decades, Saudi restrictions on women’s rights extended to their participation in sports, even as spectators.

While privileged Saudi women could compete in tennis and even football in private compounds, there was limited official backing for women in other sports.

At London 2012, judoka Wojdan Shaherkani became the first Saudi woman to compete at the Olympics thanks to a special invitation from the International Olympic Committee.

Her historic debut lasted just 82 seconds, as she was beaten in the first round.

United States-born Sarah Attar, another invitee, finished a distant last in her 800m heats on the track in London. She was one of four Saudi women to compete as wild cards at the 2016 Olympics, and they were followed by two more at Tokyo 2020.

But Abu Talib is the first to qualify outright.

Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Riyadh has tried to revamp its forbidding image in part by expanding rights for women, allowing them to drive and encouraging them to work.

The authorities have also lifted a ban on women attending football matches and invested in developing a women’s national football team.

Abu Talib has taken advantage of the new-found state backing, bagging gold at the 2020 Arab Taekwondo Championships and bronze medals at the Asian and World Championships in 2022.

Earlier in 2024 she upgraded to gold at the Asian Championships.

She has high hopes for Paris, saying: “From the beginning, I dreamt of being a world champion, participating in the Olympics and winning gold.”

To date, Saudi Arabia has won two bronze and two silver medals at the Olympics, all by men.

A gold medal is definitely the aim for the country, while Saudi Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal also said in 2022 that hosting an Olympics was the government’s “ultimate goal”.

Although she competes in a relatively low-profile event, Abu Talib has gained officials’ attention as a gold-medal hope.

Saudi Arabia hired Russian coach Kurban Bogdaev, who guided Tunisian Mohamed Jendoubi to silver at the Tokyo Olympics, to coach the Saudi taekwondo team.

“The first time I saw Donia, her level was low, but I saw her eagerness to grow and achieve,” Bogdaev said, adding that he did not necessarily view her as an Olympic prospect at first.

But she “trains hard, always believes in herself, and is confident in what she can do”, he added.

As the Olympics approach, Abu Talib is fully aware of the pressure she will be under – not least from the state – but insists she can handle it.

“As the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Olympics, I have reached the stage of kill or be killed,” she said.

“I have reached a place where I must achieve something.” AFP