Iran's Last Taekwondo Hope Fades

Date: 21 August 2016 - 20:54

News ID: ۳۰۲۸۰

RIO DE JANEIRO (MNA) – Iran's Sajjad Mardani who had a good start in his first match ended up defeated in second round.
Iran’s Sajjad Mardani was victorious over his Tongan rival Pita Taufatofua 16-1 in +80kg category in round of 16 to complete chain of good news on Saturday for Iranian camp. His match in quarterfinals was Saturday night 11:45 Tehran time versus Mahama Cho from the United Kingdom.
Cho was leading 3-1 in first round and Mardani gained another point before ending second round 3-2. In third round, Mardani managed to end the normal time 3-3 to go for a golden point round. In the sudden-death stage Sajjad Mardani appeared more aggressive and controlled the match for almost two minutes before he finally gave up all of a sudden to Cho’s kick which gained the British fighter one point and led him to the semi-finals.
Given that Mohama Cho failed to reach the finals after losing to an Azeri rival, Iran’s Mardani also missed the chance to fight in a bronze medal match.
Radik Isaev of Azerbaijan won the gold medal of the division followed by Niger’s Issoufou Alfaga Abdoulrazak who stood on the second podium. Meanwhile, Maicon de Andrade Siqueira of the host country and South Korea’s Cha Dong-min scooped bronze medals of the sportive event.