Taekwondo coach happy with performance

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Iranian taekwondo coach and former world champion Yousef Karami was happy with the way his charges gave tough time to their opponents in the World Taekwondo Championships which concluded in Baku the other day. “Our fighters showed good performance in the event and it’s a great thing,” he said. “But they can surely do better. The way they have given tough time to the opponents is a good sign for the future of taekwondo in Pakistan as such events boost your morale and experience,” Yousef said. Pakistan fielded four fighters in the global event. Meanwhile, the team leader Omar Saeed was also all praise for national fighters for delivering well and playing with full zeal. He hoped that the experience they gained will benefit them in future. Pakistan’s top fighter Haroon Khan did well in the -58 kg. He defeated Uros Belanvoic of Serbia 2-0 in the first round and downed Mustafa Mansour of Egypt 2-1 in the second round. However, in the third fight he was beaten by Georgii Gurtsiev who featured as an individual neutral athlete.

In the -54kg, Shahzeb lost at the first hurdle against Yahor Kazlou (AIN) 2-1. In -63kg, Arbaz Khan beat Severin Ndong Obamme 2-0 before losing to Lovre Brecic of Croatia in the round of 32. In the +87 kg, Hamza Saeed defeated Petros Andreou of Cyprus 2-0 while in the round of 32 Saeed was beaten by Ruslon of Kazakhstan 2-0.