Pakistan earn two taekwondo gold medals

ISLAMABAD: In yet another brilliant display, Pakistan’s Hamza Omar Saeed and Mazhar Abbas claimed gold medals while Haroon Khan and Arbaz Khan fetched silver medals for Pakistan in the 3rd Mount Everest Open Taekwondo International Championship being played in Pokhara, Nepal.

In the grand final of the + 87kg category of the Khyurogi event, Hamza took lead against India’s Gaurav Bhat in the first round with 11-2 points and then outclassed him 11-4 in the second round to win gold.

In the final of -80kg, Mazhar overcame his India's Resheb 9-7 in the first round but in the second round, Resheb staged a comeback with 8-4 points. However, in the third round, the game swung in Mazhar’s favour as he outshined his Indian rival by 8-0 to win gold. In the -58kg final, Korea’s Tae Joon Park beat Pakistan's Haroon Khan 9-1 and 11-3 in a one-sided game.

In the -63kg final, India’s Shewam Sudesh Shetti easily overcame Pakistan’s Arbaz Khan 6-5 and 7-2. In the female -57kg semi-final, Pakistan’s Noor Rehman got a bronze medal. She lost to India’s Sonam Rawal 3-0 and 4-0 in a low-scoring contest.