In yet another brilliant display of talent, Pakistan’s Hamza Omar Saeed and Mazhar Abbas claimed gold medals while Haroon Khan and Arbaz Khan fetched silver medals for Pakistan in the 3rd Mount Everest Open Taekwondo International Championship being played in Pokhara, Nepal.
In the grand final of the + 87kg category of the Khyurogi event, Hamza Omar Saeed took lead against India’s Gaurav Bhat in the first round with 11-2 points and then outclassed him 11-4 in the second round to win gold.
In the final of -80kg, Pakistan’s Mazhar Abbas overcame his Indian counterpart Resheb 9-7 in the first round but in the second round, Resheb staged a comeback with 8-4 points. However, in the third round, the game swung in Mazhar’s favor due to his attacking game due to which he outshined his Indian counterpart by 8-0 to clinch the gold medal.
Meanwhile, in the -58kg final contest, Korea’s Tae Joon Park beat Pakistan’s Haroon Khan 9-1 and 11-3 in a one-sided game. In the -63kg final, India’s Shewam Sudesh Shetti easily overcame Pakistan’s Arbaz Khan 6-5 and 7-2.
In the female -57kg semi-final, Pakistan’s Noor Rehman got a bronze medal. She lost to India’s Sonam Rawal 3-0 and 4-0 in a low-scoring contest in the semifinal.
It may be recalled here that Pakistan athletes have showcased a magnificent display of martial arts in the championship and have claimed as many as three gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze in the Khyurogi event while in the Poomsae event, they also collected an impressive tally by winning three gold medals and one silver medal as also four bronze medals.
Overall, their medals tally stands at six gold medals, three silver medals, and six bronze in the Mount Everest Open Taekwondo International Championship.
Pakistan’s Poomsae chief Coach Master Seongoh Choi of Korea and Khyurogi’s Iranian coach Yousef Karami of the national team feel elated with the team’s show and said that the players’ superb form in the event will help them perform magnificently in the upcoming Combaxx Asian Championship scheduled to be played in Islamabad this November
