▲ © Men’s -68 kg 1 – Ahmad Abughaush (JOR). 2 – Alexey Denisenko (RUS). 3 – Joel Gonzalez (ESP). 3 – Dae-hoon Lee (KOR) WTU |
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▲ © Women’s -57 kg 1 – Jade Jones(GBR). 2 – Eva Calvo(ESP). 3 – Hedaya Wahba(EGY). 3 – Kimia Alizadeh(IRI) WTU |
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By Pau Aguilar of Spain
Round by roun results: W-57 / M-68
Day 2 – Report
Great Britain and Jordan took the two gold medals at Rio 2016 Olympic Games Day 2 after Jade Jones (GBR) and Ahmad Abughaush (JOR) respectively dominated the Women’s -57 kg and Men’s -68 kg divisions on Thursday at Carioca Arena 3.
London 2012 champion Jade Jones took the highest step of the Women’s -57 kg podium after beating the other favorite of the draw, Eva Calvo from Spain, by a clear 16-7 in a very exciting final, while Abughaush grabbed the first Olympic title ever in Taekwondo for Jordan after defeating Alexey Denisenko from Russia by 10-6 in another spectacular match. Both Denisenko (RUS) and Calvo (ESP) had to content themselves with the silver medals of the day.
Jones’ way to the gold medal started with a comfortable victory over Naima Bakkal from Morocco by 12-4 in the last 16 round, followed by another clear win in the Quarter-finals against Raheleh Asemani from Belgium by 7-2. In the Semis, the British representative got rid of Glasnovic from Sweden by 9-4 to secure a place in the big final for the second Olympic Games in a row.
Abughaush’s path to the Olympic glory started against Ahmed from Egypt in the last 16 round, whom he ran over by a stunning 9-1. After, the Jordan representative had to face another worldwide known Asian fighter, Dae-hoon Lee from Korea, silver medalist in Men’s -58 kg at London 2012 and whom the Jordan was able to beat by a close margin (11-8). In the Semis, Abughaush didn’t find an easy opponent either, as he had to defeat no other than the Men’s -58 kg champion at London 2012, the Spaniard Joel Gonzalez, whom the Asian got rid of by 12-7 thanks to an impressive performance.
Bronzes
The bronze medalists in Women’s -57 kg ended up being Hedaya Wahba from Egypt and Kimia Alizadeh from Iran. Both of them managed to qualify for the Repechage draw after a tough loss throughout the afternoon session of the day, but their opponents in these matches managed to get to the final, which opened them the door to the bronzes. The Egyptian representative, who had previously smashed Patiño from Colombia by 13-0 in the Last 16 round and Hamada from Japan in the Quarter-finals by 3-0, lost to Eva Calvo (ESP) in the Semi-finals after the Spaniard managed to connect a precise kick in the sudden death period, while Alizadeh struggled to win her first clash of the day against Zaninovic from Croatia (7-6) before not being able to contain Calvo (8-7). Once in the repechage draw, Alizadeh clinched the podium after edging the Thai representative Harnsujin by 14-10 in the first match, and the Swedish Glasnovic in the second one by a clear 5-1. Wahba tasted bronze after getting rid of Asemani from Belgium in the extra time of the crucial fight (1-0).
The lower step of the podium in Men’s -68 kg was finally occupied by Joel Gonzalez from Spain and Dae-hoon Lee from Korea, the two finalists of the Men’s -58 kg division at London 2012 who finished the repechage stage in Rio as the two most succesful athletes. They had a significantly different start of the day, as Gonzalez made his way to the Semis after beating Grgic from Croatia by 4-3 in the Last 16 round and the Mongolian Purevjav in the Quarter-finals by 7-4, while Lee lost in his second appearance in Rio after being edged by the champion of the category, the Jordan Abughaush, by 11-8 in the Quarter-finals -he had previously outscored Boui (CAF) by 6-0 and withdrawal in the Last 16 round. Once in the repechage stage, Gonzalez clinched the podium after getting rid of Contreras from Venezuela, who had surprisingly defeated superstar and former Olympic champion Servet Tazegul (TUR) in the first match of the repechage, by 4-3 in the decisive match. Lee confirmed the third medal for Korea in the event after beating Ahmed from Egypt by 14-6 in the first clash and after confirming his superiority over the current world number 1 Jaouad Achab (BEL) from Belgium in the crucial fight for the medal (11-7).
WTU