Taekwondo Seo Geon-woo, 80kg Class 'Comeback Victory'... Advances to Quarterfinals [Paris Olympics]

Victory by Reversal After Decision Overturned Against Chile in Round of 16

Seo Geon-woo (20, Korea National Sport University) of the South Korean Taekwondo national team advanced to the quarterfinals with a come-from-behind victory after a reversed decision in the first match of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

On the 9th (local time) at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Seo defeated Chile's Joaquin Churchil in the men's 80kg round of 16 with a round score of 2-1 (6-8 16-16 14-1) to secure the win.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In Taekwondo, when a round ends in a tie like the second round, the winner is determined by the player with more points from spinning kicks, then by points scored in the order of head-body-fist-deduction, and finally by the player with more valid electronic protector hits. Seo, who lost the first round, seemed to have lost the second round according to these criteria. Accordingly, the referees initially declared Churchil the winner.

However, after a strong protest from coach Oh Hye-ri of the national team, the referees gathered to review each move again, reversed the decision, and recognized Seo as the winner of the second round.

Refocused, Seo took control in the decisive third round by scoring 8 consecutive points within 30 seconds, ultimately winning decisively 14-1.

According to the World Taekwondo (WT) sparring rankings compiled until June, just before the Olympics, Seo was ranked 4th and Churchil 24th. Seo will face the winner of the quarterfinal match between Jordan’s strong contender and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Saleh Elsharabaty (5th) and Enriki Marques Fernandes (Brazil, 23rd).

Born in 2003, Seo Geon-woo is a 'supernova' in South Korea’s heavyweight Taekwondo division. He secured his ticket to Paris by winning the WT World Grand Prix Final last December. South Korea has yet to win a medal in this weight class. Since Taekwondo became an official Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Games, South Korea has not even sent a competitor in the men’s 80kg category up to the 2020 Tokyo Games.

If Seo wins the championship, South Korea will have won gold medals in Taekwondo for three consecutive days. On the 7th, Park Tae-jun (Kyung Hee University) won gold in the men’s 58kg category, and on the 8th, Kim Yoo-jin (Ulsan Metropolitan City Sports Council) took gold in the women’s 57kg category.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.