ISLAMABAD:Iran secured eight medals to win the 4th Combaxx Asian Open International Taekwondo Championship G2 organized by Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) here at the Liaquat Gymnasium of Pakistan Sports Complex.
Iran bagged six gold and two silver medals while Pakistan took second place by winning three gold, as many silver and one bronze medal in the championship.
Egypt was named third with two gold, one silver and five bronze medals to its credit.
However, in the junior category events, Pakistani athletes prevailed and Pakistan remained to secure first place with as many as three golds, and one silver medal; Bahrain was declared second while Iran was named third in the junior category competitions.
On the last and final day of the prestigious event, Kazakhstan’s Nouray Bouzenova won the gold medal after beating Pakistan’s Fatima-tuz-Zehra 2-0 in the 49kg Women’s Final while Kazakhstan’s Nooriya Seveostanova beat Pakistan’s Noor Rehman 2-0 in the final of 57kg Women’s contest.
Egypt’s Malik Dia won the gold medal after beating Pakistan’s Maleesha Ali 2-0 in the final of 73kg Women’s competition.
In the Men’s 58kg final, Iran’s Armin Hadipur beat Kazakhstan’s Zhasserbek Islamov 2-0 while in the 68kg final, Iran’s Muhammad Sadegh beat Kazakhstan Eldar Birimbay 2-1.
In the 87 kg Men’s competition final, Iran’s Muhammad Amir beat Egypt’s Muhammad Khattab 2-0 to secure Gold.
Federal Minister Shahzain Bugti, who was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony, termed the event an auspicious occasion to showcase the capabilities of Pakistani youth for sports.
He was impressed by the number of world-class players featuring in the event and the quality games taking place during the event. “Sports bring world communities together and we must continue with such events to create peace and bring people from across the globe together”, he said.
PTF President Colonel (retd) Waseem Ahmed Janjua said the event had paved way for more international championships to be staged in the country in near future.
He was thankful to all units, and the sponsors, mainly Combaxx Sports, and the referees who worked tirelessly to make the event a success.
Kazakhstan’s Ambassador said quality competitions were witnessed throughout the championship. “More significantly, not a single disputed decision took place in the entire event, which is impressive”, he said.
The event’s technical delegate from Lebanon Danial Khorassandijan said the referees’ performance in the event was superb.
Many national and international dignitaries, including Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Oman’s Vice Ambassador, Technical Delegate from Lebanon Danial Khorassandijan, Chairman Referee Commission Shehram Arbabi and others also graced the concluding ceremony.