Jordan's boxing brothers Hussein and Zeyad Ishaish will set a number of firsts when they lace up their gloves in Paris this summer, as Andy Lewis reports.
Hussein, the elder of the two at 28, will be competing at his third Games. He reached the quarter-finals at super heavyweight in Rio, where he lost to eventual gold medallist Tony Yoka of France; and the quarter-finals at heavyweight in Tokyo, where he bowed out to Brazil’s Abner Texeira, who went on to claim bronze.
This summer he will drop down in weight again to compete at light heavyweight (80kg), making him the first man to feature at three separate Olympic boxing competitions all at different weights.
He will be joined in Paris by younger brother Zeyad, 25, just as he was in Tokyo three years ago, with the official Olympics website suggesting it will be the first time that brothers have boxed alongside each other in successive Games.
"This shot wouldn’t have been possible without the dreams and ambition driving me over the past three years," said Hussein on Instagram after his place in Paris was confirmed.
"My qualification for the Tokyo Olympics allowed me to dream even bigger. My goal now is to win a medal for my home country, Jordan. Now that I have secured my spot in the ring in Paris, nothing can stand in the way of my dream of raising the Jordanian flag on the podium.
"I thank everyone who stood beside me. Your support enabled me to hold this ticket, and I promise you that the best is yet to come in Paris."
Hussein narrowly missed out on the podium in each of his Olympic appearances, coming fifth both in Rio and Tokyo. He became the first Jordanian boxer to make it to the quarter-finals of an Olympic Games but is now determined to go a step further and reach the medal bouts in Paris.
"At Rio in 2016 I faced a Romanian opponent in my first bout and I became the first Jordanian boxer to make it to the quarter-finals," he said. "Then I lost to the French boxer [Tony Yoka] who later won gold. When I saw him on the podium I realised that I could do it."
Younger brother Zeyad finished ninth at light middleweight (71kg) on his Olympic debut three years ago. But, having beaten Ireland's highly rated Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Aidan Walsh on his way to qualification, he is hopeful of making a much bigger impact in Paris.
The brothers have steadily improved in recent years, with standout performances at the 2022 Asian Championships where Hussein clinched gold and Zeyad took silver.
The pair started boxing at a youth centre in Al Baqaa camp in Jordan and come from a large fighting family. “Fifteen athletes have carried the family name in boxing, including my brothers Zeyad and Zaid,” Hussein told Jordan News.
Jordan will take a third boxer, Obada Al Kasbeh, to Paris along with four taekwondo athletes, meaning their medal hopes are largely focused on combat sports with the Ishaish brothers at the forefront.
Training alongside one another means they have never been short of a sparring partner, and the pursuit of their shared Olympic dream has created a special bond between them.
"We are more than just brothers, we are friends," explained Zeyad. "We used to box against each other and our ambition was to qualify for the Olympics. Thank God we made it.
"We are the type of brothers who spent their lifetime together, people think we are friends not brothers.
"It's a great feeling to be qualified for the Olympics. After I saw my brother compete in 2016, I was really motivated to join him one day and book our tickets together."
Hussein added: "We are used to being roommates on every trip, we like to hang out together. People usually go out with their friends to have fun, but we prefer to have fun together."
Their latest trip was to Bangkok for last month's Olympic boxing world qualification tournament. Hussein booked his third consecutive spot at the Games with victory in the men’s 80kg final, defeating Armenia’s Rafayel Hovhannisyan.
He later revealed he had been inspired by his brother's victory over Walsh in the 71kg category the previous day.
"This was a very special win [over Hovhannisyan], especially because Zeyad qualified in the match right before mine. He qualified one day before me," said Hussein.
"Let me tell you what happened. Zeyad qualified one day before me. My qualifying match was scheduled for the following day. Zeyad told me that Paris wouldn’t be the same if I weren’t there competing alongside him. He said he would feel even happier if I qualified.
"When my brother Zeyad won, I was very motivated. My morale was already high, but I became more driven. Thank God, he gave me a boost of positive energy."
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