Olympic champion Viviana Márton won gold at the Taekwondo Grand Prix in Paris, while twin sister Luana and Kamilah Salim took home bronze medals.
Viviana Márton, who won Olympic gold in the French capital two years ago, began her campaign on Saturday by defeating opponents from Chile and Croatia before overcoming an Ecuadorian rival in the quarter-finals, also in two rounds.
She then beat Uzbekistan’s Ozoda Sobirjonova in the semi-finals, again winning in straight rounds. Only in the final did she need three rounds to secure victory.
In the gold-medal bout, Ivory Coast’s Ruth Gbagbi took the opening round, but the Hungarian star dominated the second and the decisive third round to win the match 2-1 and claim the title in the 62 kg weight category.
World and European champion Omar Gergely Salim also competed on Saturday. In the 68kg category, he defeated opponents from Brazil and France to reach the quarter-finals. Against Uzbekistan’s Najmiddin Kosimkhojiev, he won the first round, but his opponent took the next two to advance, leaving the Hungarian taekwondo fighter in fifth place.
European Championship bronze medalist Luca Patakfalvy finished ninth in the 57kg category. She defeated her Australian opponent in two rounds but was unable to overcome her Kazakh rival.
On Friday, Viviana Márton’s twin sister, two-time world champion Luana, won bronze in the +67kg category.
European champion Kamilah Salim also claimed bronze at the Paris Grand Prix, finishing third in the 49kg category on the final day of competition on Sunday.
The 17-year-old Hungarian came agonizingly close to reaching the final but ultimately secured bronze after a narrow defeat in the semi-finals.
Both athletes are looking forward with optimism to the upcoming European Championships.Continue reading
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert
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