Korea wins five Rio Olympic taekwondo slots

Korea’s Lee Dae-hoon, right, competes against Mexico’s Saul Gutierrez in the men’s under-68 kilograms final of the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Finals in Mexico City, Monday. / Courtesy of the World Taekwondo Federation

By Nam Hyun-woo

Lee Dae-hoon again proved his presence in the men’s under-68 kilograms taekwondo, winning the weight category in the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in Mexico City, Monday.

After the victory, Lee earned a slot in the Rio Olympics, as well as climbing to the top of the Olympic Rankings. As his compatriot Cha Dong-min also managed to earn a ticket in the men’s over-80 kilograms, Korea bagged a total of five Olympic quota slots which are given to the top six athletes in the rankings after the tournament. A day earlier, three Korean fighters collected slots in three different weight categories.

At Sala de Armas -- the Olympic fencing venue in the Magdalena Mixihuca Sports Complex, Lee, silver medalist in the London Olympics men’s under-58 kilograms, overcame Mexico’s Saul Gutierrez 8-7 during a highly contested final. Lee was behind until the dying seconds of the third round, but tied the score at 7-7 with a round kick. With the bout entering the golden point round, Lee connected with a body kick to turn around the match.

In the men’s over-80 kilograms, Cha suffered a loss against Anthony Obame of Gabon in the first round and sat at no. 7 in his weight category, but managed to cling onto the cut-off line, as two Uzbekistani fighters were ranked above sixth place. As a National Olympic Committee (NOC) can claim only one Olympic spot in one weight category, Cha was able to make it in.

After the two-day competition, 26 countries won 48 Olympic taekwondo places. The remaining 80 will be filled next year by athletes via the Continental Qualification Tournament (72), host country places (4) and Tripartite Commission Invitations (4) -- better known as wild cards.

Each NOC has the discretion to decide which athletes to send to the Rio Games, with the entry deadline set for July 18. The Korea Taekwondo Association decided that athletes who won slots would compete on the Rio mats.

Among the 26 countries, Korea led the pack with five, followed by France with four. Great Britain, Iran, Mexico and Russia each earned three places. Belgium, China, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, Germany, Spain and Turkey each won two slots. Azerbaijan, Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Japan, Moldova, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, Thailand, the United States and Uzbekistan each won one place.