Seo fails to reach 80kg final for the first time in his career, but will try for bronze
Taekwondo’s bid for a third straight gold medal fell short. Seo Gun-woo (21-Korea Gymnastics) failed to advance to the final.
Seo lost 1-2 (4-2 9-13 8-12) to Mehran Barghourdari (No. 9 Iran) in the men’s 80 kg taekwondo quarterfinals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Monday (June 9).
With the loss, Seo advances to the bronze medal match.
Barhordari defeated world No. 1 Simone Alessio (ITA) 2-1 in the quarterfinals earlier in the day. He was the bronze medalist at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. Also strong.
It was a close first round. They exchanged body blows with 34 seconds left. The score was tied at 2-2. Once again, Seo scored with a spinning kick to the body to take the lead. That was the end of the first round.
The second round was different. After exchanging head shots, the two traded head shots again. Barjordari regained the momentum. With a minute left, he scored three points with a head shot.
Seo got two points back with a body shot, but he was hit in the face again to make it 6-12. A point later, a point deduction made it three. Three seconds left. This time, Seo took a point, and it was 9-13.
The start of the third round was also close. He allowed a body attack. Barjordari then requested a video review. He claimed there was head contact. The review upheld the point. It was 0-5.
Seo continued to be dragged down. After a point deduction, he was hit in the head again. He scored a body shot and a spinning kick to the head. However, it wasn’t enough to turn the match around. He lost 8-12.
In the previous round of 16 match, it could have been worse. Against Joaquin Churchill Martinez (CHILE), Seo dropped the first round but fought back in the second. He was down 6-14 after a fierce battle.
However, Seo remained focused until the end. He landed a spinning kick to tie the game at 16-16. It was dramatic.
But here, the referee declared Martinez the 파워볼실시간 winner.
If the match ends in a tie, the winner is awarded to the player with the most spinning moves. This is followed by the athlete with the highest technical value (head to torso to regime to penalty) and then the number of popular strikes.
In the event of a tie, two judges and one referee will decide the winner.
According to this rule, Martinez should have won the fight, not Seo, who landed a spinning kick. The wrong call was made at a crucial time.
Coach Oh Hye-ri jumped to the mat and protested strongly. He asked for the match to be replayed, and after watching the second round again, the referees reversed the decision and declared Seo the winner. This was because Seo’s spinning kick was counted as two.
Martinez agreed, making the round score 1-1. Martinez pulled Seo back from the brink.
A determined Seo scored eight consecutive points in the final three rounds to take control of the bout and advance to the quarterfinals with a 14-1 victory.
In the quarterfinals, he settled down after a nervy start.
He conceded a body goal in the first minute, but immediately responded with back-to-back body attacks to take a 4-2 lead. They then exchanged points and the match ended 4-4. The first round belonged to Seo. Seo scored two takedowns to the body.
In the second round, Seo took the momentum. He scored a body shot just 30 seconds in. However, he received a point deduction, making it 2-1. In the third round, Seo also got a point deduction, but he scored a body shot, so he won.
However, he bowed his head in the quarterfinals.
South Korea did not send a competitor in the men’s 80-kilogram category from Sydney 2000, when taekwondo became an Olympic sport, until Tokyo 2020. Despite falling short of gold, first-time competitor Seo Gun-woo is hoping for a podium finish.