Islamabad, Oct 16: Pakistan Asian Open Taekwondo Championship Team Wins 9 Medals, Dominates Event
With the acquisition of two medals on the opening day of competition, the Pakistani contingent at the 6th Asian Taekwondo Open Championships enjoyed a positive start to the competition.
Pakistan Asian Open Taekwondo Championship Maleeha Ali’s team’s bronze in the women’s division, Ikhtshamul Haq won Pakistan’s first silver medal in the (-87 kg) category. Ikhtsham lost to Malaysia’s Zubair MS in the final, scoring 5-7 and 7-12, just missing out on the gold.
After defeating Azhar Salim of Indonesia in the semifinals with decisive scores of 13-10 and 10-0, he won his spot in the highly anticipated showdown.
Arbaz Khan of Pakistan lost to Kassanov Izyat of Kazakhstan in the men’s -68 kg quarterfinals, while Kassanov won the first round 8-6. Kassanov then recovered to win the next two rounds 9-7 and 19-7, moving on to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Maleeha Ali placed Pakistan in the medal columns in the women’s -73 kg division, where she lost to Korea’s Shin Jeongeun 3-0 and 4-1 in the semifinals before taking home the bronze.
Noor Fatima of Pakistan lost to McCann Nicole of the Philippines in the women’s -57 kg event with scores of 5-3 and 7-5.
In the present Asian Open Taekwondo Championship, which takes place at the Indore Stadium Sports Center in Tangerang, Indonesia, through October 18th, the 16-member Pakistani team will be hoping for additional success.
