Taekwondo gold medal hopeful Park Tae-joon (Kyunghee University) has knocked off the world’s No. 1 ranked boxer.
The No. 5-ranked Park defeated Mohamed Khalil Zendoubi of Tunisia 2-0 (6-2, 13-6) in the semifinals of the men’s 58-kilogram taekwondo event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 7).
Park took a 6-2 lead in the first set after landing a series of kicks to his opponent’s torso in the final 10 seconds. After taking a two-point lead with a body attack with about 40 seconds left, Park allowed his opponent to tie the score at two, but his left and right kicks at the end of the first set went in for a 6-2 win.
The second set was even more spectacular. Park was down three points, but he used the same head attack to win three points and tie the game. He then quickly extended the score to 8-3 with a parry attack. With 20 seconds left, he added three more points to secure the win after a video replay confirmed that his left kick hit his opponent’s headgear.
Park’s relentless sprinting also worked on the No. 1-ranked Zendubi. The Tokyo 2020 silver medalist is taller than Park, but it was Park’s aggressive execution that punched his ticket to the final.
Tae Joon Park is applauded for his aggressive taekwondo on his way to the final. For a while, taekwondo was criticized as “foot fencing” because of the passive movements of trying to control the opponent with the feet.
Park Tae-joon is different. From the Round of 16 onward, he continued to land bold, sharp kicks aimed at his opponents. His 2-0 (12-0, 12-0) victory over Venezuela’s Johandri Granado (No. 29) was a stunning display of big kicks, especially a left kick followed by a return kick with the opposite foot that knocked his opponent’s head off, which thrilled the crowd at the Grand Palais.
In the quarterfinals, she overcame one-sided opposition support. Against French taekwondo hopeful Sirien Labet, Park never lost control of the lead.
Park took the first set. After scoring a series of 파워볼실시간 early points, Park took his time and avoided Labet’s attacks with precise steps. With the score tied, he was a bit passive and gave away points he didn’t need.
Still, his dominance allowed Park to look past an unexpected injury in the second set. After complaining of pain in his upper ankle early on, he was forced to be hauled off after allowing a head attack in the resumed game. He fought back in the final game but eventually lost.
The final three sets were close. Down 1-3, she rattled off a string of points to turn it around to 5-3. He was able to avoid his opponent’s attacks to take the third set 5-4. The final score was 2-1 in Park’s favor.
The taekwondo team is the favorite to win a medal at the Games. He was recognized as a “taekwondo prodigy” from a young age and first represented his country in 2022, when he was a student at Hansung High School. That year, he rose to prominence by winning the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Grand Prix Challenge at the Muju Taekwondo Center in Jeollabuk-do.
She also breezed through the national selection trials. He defeated Jang Joon (Korea Gas Corporation), a traditional powerhouse in the weight class, to earn the Olympic gold medal.
South Korea is a dominant taekwondo nation, but has yet to win an Olympic gold medal in the 58-kilogram category. Daejeon City Hall coach Lee Dae-hoon, a taekwondo star, won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. In Rio de Janeiro 2016, Kim took bronze, and in Tokyo, Jang finished third.
Park has a good chance to shed the label of weakness in this weight class, as he has a lot of flow. Park’s final will take place at 3:37 a.m. on August 8th.
