Badge of Honor: Saudi athlete turns heads after winning Taekwondo medal

Saudi sportswomen are not just athletes, they're champions. In recent months, many female athletes have scored medals for the kingdom across the globe. 

This week, Saudi Taekwondo pro Abrar Bukhari won a bronze medal at the 10th edition of the Asian Junior Taekwondo Championships in Jordan. Bukhari defeated an Emirati team player, marking her first win at the tournament. She took part in the games last year but did not win any medals at the time. 

This year's edition of the sports event was inaugurated by Jordan's Prince Hassan bin Talal, the president of the Higher Council for Self-Defence Sports. 

In a post uploaded on personal Instagram, Bukhari expressed her sentiments of joy. 

"Milestone achieved ☑️ Thanks for all who supported and believed in me you guys are my strength to keep going.. From family.. Friends.. Saudi TKD federation," she wrote in the caption.  

She also thanked her coaches for all the support. In a statement to press, the sportswoman explained that though she participated in the competition last year, she had no support from any official board. Things were a bit different this year. She was given a push from the Saudi Arabian Federation for Taekwondo. This played a vital role in lifting her spirits. 

This isn't the first time Bukhari wins a medal while representing the kingdom abroad. In April, she also scored a bronze award at the 11th Arab Taekwondo championship which was held in Morocco. 

"A huge achievement given that she comes from a difficult environment." 

"Congrats."

In recent months, Saudi women have been breaking barriers in sports and proving that their achievements matter.

Earlier this year, Al Anoud Al Khalifi and Afnan Sabbagh became the first Saudi women to take part in the West Asia and GCC Weightlifting Championship and won a total of 12 medals at the event. 

In March, the kingdom's female basketball team participated in the Special Olympics World Summer Games for the first time and scored a gold medal there too. That same month, another Saudi woman, Zahra Al-Qurashi, made history after scoring the kingdom's first gold medal in kickboxing at the Open International Tournament for Clubs in Amman, Jordan.

Saudi women have long been restricted from practicing sports and competing at sporting events, but the kingdom has seen significant progress in recent years. 

Saudi Arabia sent female athletes to compete for the first time at the 2012 Olympic Games. The country had succumbed to international pressure and agreed to send two female Olympians three weeks before the games, following threats of being banned from the event.

In October 2017, the kingdom's current ambassador to the U.S. - Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan - became the country's first female president of a sports federation that manages activities for both men and women.

Since then, the kingdom has held its first basketball tournament for women and its first women's run. It has also given women the opportunity to participate in tournaments all around the world. Earlier this month, the kingdom announced that it will be sending an all-female bowling team to represent the country at the Women's World Championship in Bowling which is set to take place in Las Vegas next month.