Afghan players lift 2 golds, 2 Silver medals: Pakistan claim 2nd, Kazakhstan 3rd position
Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan athletes have won the title of the 5th Asian Open Taekwondo Championship 2023 by winning 2 gold and 2 silver medals that concluded at Liaquat Gymnasium, Pakistan Sports Complex on Sunday. Pakistan won second position with 2 gold, 1 silver, and 7 bronze medals, while the Kazakhstan team came third with 1 gold and 4 silver medals.
In the women's event of the championship, Kazakhstan came first with 4 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals, Great Britain came second with 1 gold and 2 silver medals whereas Iran came third with 1 gold and 1 silver medal.
In the prize distribution ceremony of the championship, the distinguished guests were the President of the Asian Taekwondo Union Prof. Kyu Seok Lee, Squash legend Jahangir Khan, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan Yerzhan Kistafin, Ambassador of Nepal Tapas Adhikaw, President of PTF. Colonel (retd) Waseem Janjua, Technical Delegate of the Championship Kook Hyun Jung, and CEO Umar Saeed distributed the prizes.
Earlier, on the last day of the 5th Asian Taekwondo Open Championship Kyorugi event, four different weight category competitions were held. In the men's -58kg final, Kazakhstan's Zhavokhirkhon Islamov performed brilliantly and won the gold medal by defeating Lev Korneev of Serbia 2-1 in an interesting match. Mohammad Nadhim of Iraq won the bronze medal while Samikhon of Kazakhstan won the fourth bronze.
In the men's -80kg category finals, Korea's Geon-Woo Seo won 2-0 against Serbia's Rustam Odinaev to win Gold while Iraq's Saif Taher Habeeb won the bronze, while Pakistan's Mazhar Abbas won the fourth.
In the women's -62 kg category final, Serbia's Nadja Savkpvic won gold with a 2-1 victory over Pakistan's Zoya Sabir, while Pakistan's Sara Rehman and Hajra Shakeel took bronze and fourth respectively. In the women's +73 category final, Kazakhstan's Cansel Deniz won 2-0 against Pakistan's Manisha Ali. Pakistan's Hira Khan won bronze and Pakistan's Nuzrat Mumtaz won the fourth bronze medal.
Results (Final Day):
Kyrougi Male Category
First Position: Afghanistan (2 Gold & 2 Silver Medals)
Second Position: Pakistan (2 Gold, 1 Silver and 7 Bronze Medals)
Third Position: Kazakhstan (1 Gold & 4 Silver Medals)
Kyrougi Female Category
First Position: Kazakhstan (4 Gold & 1 Silver & 3 x Bronze Medals)
Second Position: Iran (1 Gold & 1 Silver Medals)
Third Position: Great Britain (3 Silver and 11 Bronze Medals)
Poomsae Male/Female Individual Category
First Position: Pakistan (6 Gold & 6 Silver & 12 x Bronze Medals)
Second Position: Saudi Arabia (2 Gold & 1 Silver & 2 x Bronze Medals)
Third Position: Nepal (1 Gold)
Poomsae Male/Female Pair / Team Category
First Position: Pakistan (7 Gold & 6 Silver & 10 x Bronze Medals)
Second Position: Saudi Arabia (1 x Bronze Medals)
