Saudi Arabia's Abu Talib beats Israeli taekwondo opponent in Olympics

Saudi Arabia’s Dunya Abu Talib beat Israel’s Abishag Semberg in the round of 16 of the women’s flyweight taekwondo competition at the Paris Olympic games today, Reuters reports.

Abu Talib, the first Saudi woman to earn direct qualification to the Olympics, won 2-6 5-4 10-0 and capped her victory by landing two kicks to the head and two kicks to the body in the third round.

Both fighters were loudly supported by their compatriots in the stands.

Semberg said she was disappointed with her performance because of how important she felt it was to represent Israel on sport’s biggest stage.

There have been widespread calls for Israel to be banned from the Olympics due to its ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.

Saudi Arabia has criticised Israel’s attack on Gaza, labelling them “inhumane” and accused Israel of committing “continuous genocidal massacres” against the Palestinian population.