WUXI, China, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) — China’s Liang Yushuai and Song Jie claimed gold of their respective classes on the 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Slam Champions Series finals right here on Saturday.
These victories elevated them to prime positions on the Grand Slam rankings and thus assured them qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Grand Slam Champions Series serves as an impartial Olympic qualification match. The highest-ranked athletes of the Grand Slam in every of the eight weight classes after this last straight safe one Olympic quota place at Paris 2024.
The males’s 68kg last unfolded between two reigning world champions – Liang and Croatia’s Marko Golubic. The two gamers, each 23 years outdated, battled to a draw within the first two rounds. Trailing 8-12 within the decisive third spherical, Liang staged a comeback, reversing the rating to 20-18 and securing the title.
China’s Xiao Chenming took the bronze medal.
“I can feel greater pressure from my opponent. I believe maintaining a relaxed mindset was the key to my success this time,” Liang stated after the match.
Having missed out participation within the Tokyo Olympics, Liang said that he has improved each mentally and bodily, prepared for brand new challenges.
In the ladies’s 67kg class, Song Jie and compatriot Zhang Mengyu superior to the ultimate, securing an Olympic berth for the Chinese group. Song emerged victorious ultimately.
17-year-old Turkish rising star Elif Sude Akgul secured an Olympic spot within the girls’s 49kg class by defeating South Korean Kang Mi-reu. China’s Guo Qing bagged the bronze medal.
The males’s +80kg last noticed world champion Vladislav Larin stand atop the rostrum, securing a ticket to Paris.
The Grand Slam Champions Series finals will conclude on Sunday, with Olympic quotas up for grabs within the remaining 4 weight classes.