PESHAWAR: Mohammad Shahbaz clinched first bronze medal for Pakistan in the -68kg category while his compatriot Mohammad Asif Khan defeated India’s Manoj Kumar Yadav in the -74kg to make the quarter-finals at the second Mount Everest International Taekwondo Championship in Kathmandu on Monday.
Shahbaz, who hails from Karachi, outclassed his Indian rival Arujan Rawat before losing to Mohammad Anwar of Bangladesh in the semi-final at the Dasharath Rangashala Stadium.
Meanwhile, Asif, from Abbottabad, shocked a competitive-looking Manoj Kumar Yadav 8-5 to reach the -74kg quarter-finals.
Asif twice hit the Indian opponent with left-kick on the face, taking three points each, as the Pakistani took lead right in the opening round of the three rounds of three minutes each.
It was an impressive show by the three-member Pakistan outfit in the 10-team championship.
The bout between Asif and Manoj attracted a significant number of spectators cheering their respective countryman. Asif now faces Ram Datta Bhatta of Nepal in his next bout.
Earlier, in the male -54kg weight Arun Adhikari of Nepal took gold medal beating Malaysia’s Mohammad Alif in the final.
Bahim Gautam of Australia and Doten Dorji of Bhutan claimed bronze.
In the female -57kg, Gayani Chunara of Nepal won gold as she upset India’s Suchitra Singh in the final. Jade Milne-Parry of Australia and Bhutan’s Sonam Tshomo grabbed bronze.
In the female -67kg, Ayesha Kafle of Nepal clinched gold after shocking Shahanaz Khatun of Bangladesh 11-9 while Mira Kafle of Nepal and Bhutan’s Tashering Dema earned bronze medal.
In the male -68kg, P. Saravana Kumar of India beat Anwar Hussain of Bangladesh in the final 17-9 while Pakistan’s Shahbaz and Bhutan’s Tilak Bdr Gurung won bronze.
In the female 73kg-plus, Nepal’s star player Nisha Rawal won gold, Priyanka Sindh of India silver and Saiengpull Sailo of India bronze.
In the male -87kg category, Anand of India claimed gold knocking out Nepal’s Lazman Maharjan in the third round. Andres Tissera of Australia and Partha Biswas of India took bronze.
