My accidental path to Gold, by Khetam Kamal

“I wasn’t planning to become an athlete, it was just by accident that I entered into sport and ended up winning gold medals!” Talk about honesty! But Khetam Kamal has become one of Jordan’s best loved sporting icons and recently won the Black Iris Award for Paralympian Athlete of 2006.

While she makes it sound easy, the modest 32 year-old has overcome more than most on a long road to represent her country and to establish herself as one of the world’s finest wheelchair table tennis players.

“I registered in a club in Zarqa since my physical handicap prevented me from going to school then; I started studying properly when I was 15, and then the club administration suggested starting a table tennis team for females as well as the males in the club.”

She added: “The team included me, Fatema Azzam and Heyam Jbarah and we were training in the club under the supervision of our coach for two years. In 1992, we participated in our first national championship and I was able to achieve a Gold Medal. It was a turning point in my life to have achieved something like this and led me to joining the table tennis national team.”

Table tennis became a big part of her life from that day on. She dedicated hours every day to improving her technique and continued to excel in national championships; winning gold in both single and doubles events.

“I became more disciplined and fitter so in 1996 I participated in my first International Championship in England and won a doubles bronze with my team mate Maha Al Barghouthi. It was particularly satisfying because there were men also competing which we beat!

Khetam says that table tennis has helped her develop her life in general and says it is a great way of making friends both in Jordan and abroad. In 1998, she returned to England and this time won four medals, three of them gold.

Sport has helped Khetam with her educational development and she credits her confidence gained through sport for helping her improve her education standards.

“All that encouraged me to continue my education so I went to the Jordan University Educational Faculty, and now work at the Public Security Sector.”

In 1999, Khetam won four golds in the Al Hussein Pan Arab League but later that year she qualified for the Sydney Paralympic Games held in 2000. Silver followed in 2002 at the World Championships in Holland and then a second Paralympics appearance was secured at the Athens qualifiers held in 2004 in Jordan. This time the team achieved a bronze. Her sights are now fixed on the Beijing Games in 2008.

But the highlight of her career came last year in Switzerland at the World Championships. Squaring up against the world’s best, Khetam won gold in the team and silver in the individual to establish herself as one of the world’s greats.

Despite such a long and distinguished career, thankfully there is no end in sight for the ambitious star who says her recent accolade from the Sports Media was undoubtedly her proudest moment to date.

“I was very proud when I won the title of the Best Paralampian Athlete and received the Black Iris Award - the Jordanian Sports Oscars,” she recalls. “It was a proud moment for me and my family to be honoured on stage by HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein (Jordan Olympic Committee President), and I am sure this will encourage me to go on and win more medals for Jordan.”

The Black Iris Awards are voted by the Jordanian sports media and Khetam was a clear winner – reflecting just how much an impact she has made on the local sporting community.