under the Public Relations Committee for the 1st Asian
Martial Arts Games 2009
[TAEKWONDO] Thailand failed to fare well in the final day of taekwondo competition in the 1st Asian Martial Arts Games at Indoor Stadium Hua Mark yesterday (August 5) as Thai Nacha Punthong ended his journey just in the semi-finals.
In the men’s featherweight division, the 22-year-old Thai fighter, who was a single Thai in the last day of the discipline, faced a mix of fortune as the Thai did not have to drop a sweat in the preliminary round since Rasul Abduraim of Kygystan failed in weigh measuring.
In the semi-finals, the 2006 Asian champion, who trashed Mohammad Abulibdeh from Jordan 4-1 in the quarter-finals, was set aside by Taiwan’s Lo Tsung-jui 5-3. Nacha had to be content with the bronze medal.
“This squad is the combination of team A and B. We have to praise all of them for their brave effort. They did their best and finally won the medals for Thailand. I believe that several of them will become the main force of Thai national team in the future as they are so young and have good skills. However, two athletes in this squad will be pruned for the long-term preparation for the next tournament,” said Preecha Tortrakul, the chairman of taekwondo trial selection.
The Taiwanese went on to win the gold medal in the men’s featherweight class after beating Kairat Sarymsakov of Kazakhstan 2- minus 1.
In the women’s event, China’s Lei Jie, who routed Zarina Shamshatkyzy from Kazakhstan 7-0 in the final, took home the gold medal.
The gold medal in the men’s lightweight class was won by Bahawi Nesar from Afghanistan after a slim 6-5 victory over Nabil Hassan of Jordan.
Zhang Hua added another gold medal to the China’s medal tally after the Chinese shrugged off Kaltham jasim Jawher from Bahrain 7-0 in the women’s category.
In the end of the taekwondo competition, the lion’s share of 4 gold medals went to Korea. Taiwan, Kazakhstan, China and Thailand shared 2 gold medals each, while Afghanistan, Bahrain, the Philippines and Vietnam took home one gold apiece.
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