Pakistan out of taekwondo tournament

Hope to qualify for Olympics through Asian championship.

KARACHI:

Pakistan ended their run at the World Olympic Taekwondo Qualification Tournament when Arshad Atif lost against Netherland’s Tommy Mollet in the 80-kg category and Kiran Bano was outplayed by Dominican Republic’s Yajaira Peguero in the 49-kg event in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Atif went down against Mollet 3-2 after winning his first round of the bout. Azerbaijan’s Ramin Azizov grabbed gold medal in the event with Iran’s Yousef Karami finishing second and Italy’s Mauro ending third.

Similarly, Bano lost to Peguero 14-2, while China’s Jingyu Wu took gold in the 49-kg event.

However, according to the Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) Secretary Wasim Ahmed, the country still has a chance to qualify for the Olympics through the Asian Taekwondo Championship.

“We have not lost hope as yet,” Ahmed told The Express Tribune. “We have a chance in the Asian qualifiers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2011.