Hayder_Shkara
Hayder Shkara
Australian taekwondo practitioner
Hayder Shkara (born 21 May 1990) is a former professional Taekwondo athlete.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality |  Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1990-05-21) 21 May 1990 (age 34) Auburn, Australia | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Homebush Boys High School, University of Technology Sydney | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Taekwondo | ||||||||||||||
| Team | Australian National Team | ||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Ali Khalil | ||||||||||||||
| Retired | Yes | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 7th | ||||||||||||||
| Regional finals | 1st | ||||||||||||||
| National finals | 1st | ||||||||||||||
| Highest world ranking | 10th | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||
| Updated on 24 August 2016 | |||||||||||||||
Shkara was introduced to martial arts at the age of 8, whilst living in Sydney. He entered the Australian national team in 2006.
From 2009 to 2017, Shkara was on the Australian National Taekwondo team and competed at the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships, 2011 World Taekwondo Championships, 2013 World Taekwondo Championships, 2015 World Taekwondo Championships and 2017 World Taekwondo Championships.
He attempted to gain selection to the London 2012 Olympic Games but failed to qualify, after a loss to Vaughn Scott.
Shkara was part of the Australian team's successful run at the 2015 Pacific Games, winning a gold medal there and claiming three bronze medals at the 2015 Polish, Russian and Serbian Opens.[1]
At a rematch with Vaughn at an Oceania 2016 qualifying tournament, Shkara was victorious and secured entry to the 2016 Summer Olympics.[2]
Shkara said he was not particularly good at sport as a child, but fell in love with Taekwondo. When he succeeded at qualifying for the Olympics, he said the feeling was immense.[3]
Shkara's first match was against Lutalo Muhammad of Great Britain (the eventual silver medalist). He was defeated 14-0, and suffered a broken rib.
Due to Lutalo Muhammad making the finals, Shkara was given entry to a bronze medal match against the Steven Lopez (USA).
After a sudden death round, Shkara was defeated on a count back of touches.[4]
After retiring from professional Taekwondo, Shkara began work as a lawyer practicing in Australian family law.[5] In 2017, he started his own law firm, Justice Family Lawyers in Sydney.[6]
In June 2022, Shkara acquired Melbourne based firm, Melbourne Family Lawyers,[7] furthering the growth of his firm in the Victorian legal market.
Shkara said that the client base at Justice Family Lawyers had been growing in the Melbourne market, leading to the opening of a Melbourne office in 2019. At that time, Justice Family Lawyers was “in a prime position” to acquire and grow Melbourne Family Lawyers.[8]
Shkara further expanded on his business growth by acquiring Walker Pender Group in Queensland in 2023.
He has appeared on the Australian TV program Insight where he discussed prenuptial agreements with the studio audience.[9]
- Garber, Stefanie (6 July 2016). "Taekwondo lawyer heading to Rio". www.lawyersweekly.com.au. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- "Olympian Taekwondo athlete Hayder Shkara, on Crossing the Line Tuesday 12 June 3pm". 89.7 Eastside FM. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- Ford, Mazoe (7 April 2016). "Taekwondo star hopes Rio success will inspire disadvantaged youth". ABC News.
- "Broken ribs didn't stop fighter". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- "Justice Family Lawyers". Justice Family Lawyers. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- "Melbourne Family Lawyers". 13 February 2023.
- Doraisamy, Jerome (9 June 2022). "Justice Family Lawyers acquires Melbourne firm". www.lawyersweekly.com.au. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- "Prenuptial Agreements". Insight. Retrieved 20 March 2019.