Teenagers cause upsets on first day of taekwondo tournament | Inquirer Sports

Teenagers cause upsets on first day of taekwondo tournament

/ 06:32 PM July 24, 2021

Spain's Adriana Cerezo Iglesias (Blue) celebrates after winning the taekwondo women's -49kg semi-final bout against Turkey's Rukiye Yildirim (Red) compete in during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Tokyo on July 24, 2021.

Spain’s Adriana Cerezo Iglesias (Blue) celebrates after winning the taekwondo women’s -49kg semi-final bout against Turkey’s Rukiye Yildirim (Red) compete in during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Tokyo on July 24, 2021. (Photo by Javier SORIANO / AFP)

CHIBA, Japan— A pair of little-known teenage taekwondo fighters defeated gold medal contenders on the first day of the Tokyo Games tournament on Saturday, highlighted by Spaniard Adriana Cerezo Iglesias’ upset of China’s two-time Olympic champion Wu Jingyu.

Even with form hard to judge coming into the Games with most international competitions wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cerezo Iglesias’s win over the 34-year-old Wu in the women’s -49kg event was a massive shock.

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“I couldn’t believe it,” said 17-year-old Cerezo Iglesias, who was leading 33-2 at the end of two rounds and won by ‘point gap’. “She’s one of my idols so I was really excited to fight her, and I’m so happy I could win like that.

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“I just focused on myself and how I was going to fight. I didn’t ever think I could win that way. But a lot of things can happen here. Nothing is impossible.”

Tunisia's Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi (Blue) celebrates with his coach after winning the taekwondo men's -58kg semi-final bout against South Korea's Jang Jun (Red) during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Tokyo on July 24, 2021.

Tunisia’s Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi (Blue) celebrates with his coach after winning the taekwondo men’s -58kg semi-final bout against South Korea’s Jang Jun (Red) during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Tokyo on July 24, 2021. (Photo by Javier SORIANO / AFP)

Cerezo Iglesias will face Thailand’s Panipak Wongpattanakit in the -49kg final.

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In the men’s -58kg category, Tunisian 19-year-old Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi looks set to be minted as the next “one-to-watch” after breezing to a surprise victory over Solomon Demse in the quarter-finals with a 23-point gap.

The teenager then went on to beat top-ranked gold medal favorite Jang Jun of South Korea 25-19 to reach the final.

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TAGS: Spain, Tokyo Olympics, Tunisia

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