SHORTLISTS AND TWO WINNERS REVEALED FOR BLACK IRIS AWARDS

The waiting is over as the Jordan Olympic Committee has released the shortlists for the 2014 Black Iris Sports Awards.

And for the first time, two categories have already been decided with the expert panel revealing that the winners of the Best Sportswoman and the Best Young Sports Achiever – Female awards should be named unchallenged, leaving three categories to be decided through a public vote.

It means that Rana Qubbaj’s (Best Sportswoman) achievement in winning gold in the World Jujitsu Masters and youngster Eman Al Adayleh (Best Young Sports Achiever – Female ) qualifying through to the Youth Olympics were deemed unsurpassable achievements for their categories.

With a new and improved format for selecting the final names to be put to the public vote, the anticipation has been growing since it was confirmed last Thursday that the expert panel of prominent sports media figures would meet today (Sunday).

And what a fantastic list it is too for the awards that recognise the best sporting achievers from the past 12 months. 

The panel decided from a long list made up of nominations submitted by the National Sporting Federations. That has been whittled down to three names for each of the three remaining undecided categories with the public now taking centre stage.

Starting later this week, the three shortlists will be posted onto the JOC’s Facebook page as well as www.joc.jo. Votes will be collated with the eventual winners to be announced alongside the two names already revealed at a gala dinner in February.

Black Iris Awards categories:

Best Sportsman:

Abdel Rahman Al Masatfeh (Karate): Silver at Asian Games

Odai Al Hindawi (Boxing): Silver at the Asian Games

Mohammad Salameh (Muay Thai): Bronze at Asian Beach Games, Gold in Arab Championship

Best Sportswoman: Rana Qubbaj - gold in the World Jujitsu Masters (winner)

Best Young Achiever – Male:

Obadah Al Kisbeh (Boxing): Bronze at Asian Games

Hamzeh Qattan (Taekwondo): Silver at World Youth Championships

Zaid Al Halawani (Taekwondo): Gold at World Junior Championships

Best Young Achiever – Female: Eman Al Adayleh qualified for Youth Olympic Games (winner)

Best Paralympic Athlete:

Moutaz Al Juniadi (Weightlifting): Gold at World Championships, Silver at Paralympic Asian Games

Khetam Abu Awad (Table Tennis): Silver at World Championships, Bronze at Parlaympic Asian Games

Abdel Kareem Khattab (Weightlifting): Gold in Asian Paralympic Games