Sinan bags taekwondo silver in Paris meet

PARIS: UAE-based taekwondo player Sinan Ashfaq Ahmed continued his winning spree as he bagged silver medal at the French Open Taekwondo Championship recently-concluded in Paris, says a press release.

Sinan, who represented Pakistan team, beat Russian player Pavel Mironov in quarter-final and Spanish player David Rodrigues Garcia in the semi-final. However, he lost to another Russian player Ivan Skudrit in the final. More than 1050 players from around the world participated in one of the biggest Taekwondo events in the world.

Sinan has so far won seven medals this year including four international and three national medals. Silver medal in Paris is Sinan’s fourth international medal for Pakistan this year. Sinan had also won a bronze for Pakistan at the President’s World Taekwondo Championship held in Tashkent in 2017.

Sinan is the first Pakistani player in the cadet category to win medals for Pakistan in Europe.

Speaking about his success, Sinan said: “I am working hard and hope to bring more laurels for Pakistan,” he said. Sinan thanked Pakistan Taekwondo Federation President Colonel (r) Waseem Ahmed for his continuous support and encouragement.

Sinan’s coach Abdullah Hatim commended Sinan’s performance considering that French Open is one of the toughest championships in the world. He said Sinan is gradually improving his skills and he will be ready for the Junior World Championship next year. Sinan trains at the Sharjah Sport Club with coach Hatim.

Sinan is younger brother of Ammar Ashfaq Ahmed, who represented Pakistan at the Junior World Cup last year, Asian Taekwondo Championship in Jordan this year and also played a number of other international events for Pakistan.