The Olympics Blog » Taekwondo

Angel Matos: The UnOlympian

bill — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:50:00 +0000

Ban this guy. There’s no excuse for this kind of stupid and unsportsmanlike behavior.

Cuba’s Angel Matos deliberately kicked a referee square in the face after he was disqualified in a bronze-medal match, prompting the World Taekwondo Federation to recommend he be banned for life.

“We didn’t expect anything like what you have witnessed to occur,” said WTF secretary general Yang Jin-suk. “I am at a loss for words.”

Yang also recommended Matos’ coach be banned.

Matos was winning 3-2, with 1:02 left in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov. Matos was sitting there, awaiting medical attention, when he was disqualified for taking too much injury time. Fighters get one minute, and Matos was disqualified when his time ran out.

Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden, who will require stitches in his lip. Matos spat on the floor and was escorted out.

“This is an insult to the Olympic vision, an insult to the spirit of taekwondo and, in my opinion, an insult to mankind,” Yang said.

Thailand’s Medal Hopes

bill — Thu, 22 May 2008 03:09:00 +0000

Thai taekwondo jins Buttree Puedpong, Chutchawal Khaola-or, and Chonnapas Premwaew (left) are good enough to win Olympic gold medals according to Pimol Srivikorn, president of the Taekwondo Association of Thailand (TAT).

If any of the three will win a gold medal, s/he will receive a bonus amounting to $314,000 as we noted here. Of the countries we’ve tracked so far, Thailand is awarding the richest financial incentive to its Olympic medalists.

PHOTO SOURCE: Yahoo

Rivalry: Chinese-Taipei’s Yang Shujun vs. China’s Wu Jingyu

bill — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:58:00 +0000

Who between Chinese-Taipei’s Yang Shujun and China’s Wu Jingyu will emerge victorious come August?

For now, Yang has the upper hand because she just beat Wu Jingyu in their taekwondo match. Says Wu, 2007 world champion, of her loss:

“I am still confident and this failure won’t destroy my mood or leave any shadow in my mind. This failure will do good to my preparation for the Olympics, because I can find my problems in strategy and techniques.”

For her part, Yang doesn’t view Wu as her main Olympic rival:

“I don’t think Wu is the only opponent in the Olympics. She’s outstanding, but I am not afraid of her, because there are many brilliant rivals in the Olympics. I am confident and my advantage is the strong mentality. I don’t think I am good at the strategy and I believe I still have room to improve myself.”

For now, we’re cheering for Yang because she’s representing David (Chinese Taipei) against Goliath (China). As we said somewhere in this blog, we tend to side with the little guy. Go, Yang!

Olympian to Watch: Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Tuan

bill — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:41:00 +0000

Vietnamese weightlifter Hoang Anh Tuan won a bronze during the 2006 World Weightlifting Championships. He also emerged as the Asian champion during the Asian championships held last month.

Will he bag a medal for Vietnam in Beijing? He’s rightfully hoping:

I’m not 100 percent sure that I will be successful at the 2008Olympic Games. But, as an Asian champion, I have the right to hope, and try my best to gain an Olympic medal.

From xinhuanet, we learn that Vietnam has, to date, “four official berths for three taekwondo fighters and one table tennis player; two preference berths for one gymnastics athlete and one shooter; and eight berths for wushu performance.”

Vietnam bagged its first-ever Olympic medal during the Sydney 2000 Games when Tran Hieu Ngan snatched a silver medal in taekwondo.

PHOTO SOURCES: vietnamnet and tinthethao

Country Report: Vietnam Athletes in Beijing

bill — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:01:00 +0000

From xinhua.net we learn that Vietnam was given an Olympic spot in air pistol shooting:

The International Sport Shooting Federation (ISSF) has allocated Vietnam an exceptional berth for 50m air pistol at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games slated for August in China.

Vietnam is likely to choose shooter Nguyen Manh Tuong, who currently ranks the 12th in the world at the 50m air pistol event, to get the berth, local newspaper Young People reported Friday.

To date, Vietnam has had four official berths for three taekwondo fighters and one table tennis player; two preference berths for one gymnastics athlete and one shooter; and eight berths for wushu performance.

Vietnam bagged home the first-ever Olympic medal with 26-year-old woman athlete Tran Hieu Ngan taking a taekwondo silver medal at Sydney Olympic Games 2000.

Vietnam started competing in the Olympics in 1952. The only medal it has won so far is Tran Hieu Ngan’s silver medal in taekwondo during the Sydney Olympic Games.