Taekwondo's Idabin loses to Uzbekistan at 67kg final hurdle... heads to bronze medal match [Paris Olympics]

Taekwondo star Lee Da-bin (28, Seoul City Hall) was denied a spot in the Olympic final.

Da-bin Lee (Seoul Metropolitan Government) lost to Svetlana Osipova in the women's over 67kg Taekwondo semifinal at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on the 11th (Korean time).
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

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On the 10th, at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Lee Da-bin suffered a complete defeat with a round score of 0-2 (3-3, 5-9) against Uzbekistan's Svetlana Osipova (ranked 9th) in the women's over 67kg semifinal of the 2024 Paris Olympics taekwondo event.

Lee Da-bin, who won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, continued her golden challenge in Paris. After defeating China's Zhou Zhechi (ranked 10th), who had beaten her in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games final, 2-1 in the quarterfinals to maintain momentum, Lee was unfortunately stopped by Osipova in the semifinals and had to move on to the bronze medal match.

In the early part of the first round, Lee Da-bin successfully took the initiative in a tense flow. She targeted her opponent’s head with a left kick, which was confirmed as a score after video review, putting her ahead 3-0. However, with 15 seconds left in the match, she conceded a scorpion kick from Osipova, tying the score at 3-3. According to the rules, when a round ends in a tie, the winner is decided by the player with more points from spinning kicks, then by points scored in the order of head-body-fist-penalties, and finally by the number of valid electronic protector hits. Osipova led in cumulative points and thus won the first round.

In the second round, Lee Da-bin was again overwhelmed by Osipova’s momentum. From the start, Osipova scored 3 points by accurately striking Lee’s face with kicks. She continuously pressured Lee with scorpion kicks moving from inside to outside. With 44 seconds remaining, both exchanged body attacks. Trailing 2-5, Lee lost momentum after receiving a 1-point penalty with 15 seconds left. Then, with 8 seconds remaining, Osipova scored a head kick, widening the gap to 2-9. Although Osipova later received three consecutive penalties, it was not enough to overturn the result.

Lee Da-bin, who has been active on the national team since 2014, won consecutive titles at the 62kg category in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and the over 67kg category in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. She also claimed the top spot at the 2016 Manila Asian Championships and the 2019 Manchester World Championships. Having achieved a Grand Slam with only the Olympic gold medal remaining, Lee challenged for gold again in Paris but unfortunately failed to advance to the final.

Lee Da-bin will compete in the bronze medal match at 3:34 AM on the 11th.

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