TANGERANG (Indonesia): Pakistan’s Ikhtsh­am-ul-Haq secured a silver medal in the -87kg kyorugi category at the sixth Asian Taekwondo Open Championship in Tangerang, Indonesia on Tuesday.

Ikhtsham was defeated by Malaysia’s Zubair in the final with scores of 5-7 and 7-12.

Ikhtsham’s journey to the final included a convincing semi-final victory against Indonesia’s Azhar Salim, winning 13-10 and 10-0. However, Zubair’s superior technique secured Malaysia’s gold.

In other results, Pakistan’s Arbaz Khan suffered a narrow defeat to Kazakhstan’s Kassanov Izyat, losing 2-1. Arbaz dominated the first round 8-6 but struggled in the subsequent rounds, losing 9-7 and 7-19.

Pakistan’s Maleeha Ali claimed a bronze medal in the women’s -73kg category. Her campaign ended with a semi-final loss to Korea’s Shin Jeongeun, who won 3-0 and 4-1.

Noor Fatima, another Pakistani athlete, was defeated by the Philippines’ McCann Nicole 3-5 and 7-5 in the women’s -57kg category.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2024