Pakistan’s solid run at the 6th Asian Taekwondo Open Championships continued with another Silver and first Gold medal courtesy of Shahzeb Khan.
Shahzeb secured his country’s first gold with a comeback win over Philippines’ Calamba in the final bout of the -54 kg weight category
It was a slow start for Shahzeb who went a round down after a 6-11 opening before storming back to take the second round 10-3. With confidence surging through him, Zhahzeb eased to a decisive 18-0 score in the last round to earn his country’s first gold medal in the competition.
His showing earned him plaudits from Pakistan Olympic Association President Syed Abid Qadri, Secretary General Khalid Mahmood, Chairperson of Special Olympics Pakistan Ronak Lakhani, Pakistan Taekwondo Federation President Col. Waseem Janjua, and CEO Omar Saeed.
Meanwhile, Hamza Saeed managed to snag another Silver medal for Pakistan, falling to Kazakhstan’s Kablan after a valiant effort in the final of the +87 kg category with scores of 5-1 and 4-4.
Shahzeb Khan and Hamza join Ikhtshamul Haq and Maleeha Ali to climb to the podium during this year’s competition.
Maleeha had started to medal party for Pakistan wither her Bronze before Ikhtshamul earned a silver on the first day of the championship.