Israeli para taekwondo athlete Omer Barel competing in the Swiss Open, where he earned a silver medal. Photo: Gilad Cavalierchik via Israel’s official X account

Israeli para taekwondo athlete Omer Barel, who lost his left arm during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, won silver at the 2026 Swiss Open this weekend, marking his first international victory.

Barel beat an opponent from France to reach the final, where he then defeated a Turkish opponent and secured the silver medal.

Barel, who grew up in the Israeli town of Kokhav Yair, had competed professionally in judo and won Israeli youth judo championships before serving in a combat unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

In January 2024, Barel was severely injured by an RPG strike in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas terrorists, and doctors were forced to amputate his left arm.  He has since been competing in paralympic taekwondo and his first international competition was in late June at the President’s Cup in Germany.

The Swiss Open took place in St. Gallen, Switzerland, from Sept. 4-6 and para taekwondo athletes competed on the last day. This year marks the first time that para taekwondo was included in the Swiss Open, which is sanctioned by World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union (ETU), and organized by Swiss Taekwondo.