Edival Pontes

Edival Marques Quirino Pontes, also known as Netinho, was born on October 11, 1997, in João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. His athletic journey began early, introduced to football at age five by his father. However, at seven, he discovered taekwondo and pursued it, starting to win Brazilian championships by age 12. This early dedication laid the foundation for a distinguished career in the sport.

Pontes achieved international prominence as a junior athlete, becoming a junior world champion at 16 in the 2014 World Juniors Taekwondo Championships. That same year, he earned a gold medal at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, competing in the 63 kg category. These early successes marked him as a promising talent within the taekwondo community. His career continued with significant victories including a silver medal at the 2016 Pan American Taekwondo Championships in the 68 kg category, and a gold medal at the 2018 Pan American Taekwondo Championships.

His senior career includes a gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, breaking a 12-year gold medal drought for Brazil in the sport at the event. He also secured a silver medal at the 2022 World Taekwondo Championships in the under-74kg category, marking his first medal in an adult World Championship. Edival Pontes represented Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, where he earned a bronze medal in the Men’s -68kg event, becoming the third Brazilian to achieve an Olympic taekwondo medal.