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Seo Gun-woo fails to reach men's 80kg final - advances to bronze medal match

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  South Korean taekwondo sensation Seo Gun-woo, 20, failed to advance to the final and is headed to the bronze medal match. World No. 4 Seo lost his quarterfinal match against world No. 9 Mehran Barghourdari of Iran, 1-2 (4-2, 9-13, 8-12), in the men's 80-kilogram taekwondo event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Monday afternoon (Feb. 9), dropping him to the bronze medal match instead of the final. Starting in Paris, the sport of taekwondo will have a new rule. Until the last Games in Tokyo, taekwondo consisted of three two-minute rounds, followed by a fourth round of overtime if a winner could not be determined, with the winner being the first to score two points. Points were accumulated in the third round until the overtime period, but this rule changed at the Paris Games. The rules for the three two-minute rounds are the same, but the points from each round are not cumulative. At the end of each round, the next round will be played to a 0-...

Seo Gun-woo Fails to Reach Men's 80kg Final for First Time in History

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  South Korean men's taekwondo heavyweight KANPAN Seo Gun-woo (21, Korea National Taekwondo Team) fell short in his bid to reach his first ever final. The world No. 4 Seo fell 1-2 (4-2 9-13 8-12) to world No. 8 Mehran Barghourdari (IRAN) in the quarterfinals of the men's under-80 kg taekwondo event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Tuesday afternoon (ET). Seo took a cautious approach to the match, keeping things close in the early stages. The first point came at the 1:30 mark. Seo aimed for the body and exchanged two points with Barhordari. Soon after, Seo scored with a spinning kick to take the first round. The second round was a different story. Barjordari came out aggressively and scored back-to-back heads to take a 4-9 lead. At the end of the second round, his movements slowed down and he lost his focus, tying the round 1-1. The third and final round. Barjordari went on the offense first and took the lead, and after a video review (IVR...

Taekwondo's third straight gold medal falls short as Seo falls just short of final

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  South Korean taekwondo heavyweight ace Seo Gun-woo (21-Hanche University) failed to punch his ticket to the final. Seo failed to advance to the final after falling 1-2 (4-2 9-13 8-12) to Mehran Barghourdari (IRAQ) in the men's 80kg quarterfinals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Taekwondo Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Monday. Seo made it through the round of 16 in dramatic fashion. After dropping the first game to Joaquin Churcil (CHILE), he was down 6-15, 9 points with 34 seconds left in the second game. Despite facing defeat, Seo refused to give up and made a last-ditch offense to tie the game at 16-16. After the end of the second period, the referee declared Churcil the winner, but the scorecard showed that Seo was ahead and the decision was overturned. After a narrow comeback, Seo completed a dramatic comeback in the third game with a dominant performance to take down his opponent. In the quarterfinals, Seo defeated Enhiki Marques Fernandes (BRA) 2-0 to advance to th...

Jeon Sang-gyun wins bronze medal after 12 years

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  Athlete Jeon Sang-gyun at the Korea Mint In front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 2024, Jeon Sang-gyun, Deputy Director of the Numismatic Division of the Korea Mint, received the bronze medal for weightlifting that he had won at the London 2012 Olympics. "My hand went up without me realizing it," he laughed embarrassedly as he held the bronze medal around his neck. On the 9th (Korea time), Jeon was invited to attend the 'Medal Reassignment Ceremony' at Champions Park in Trocadero Square in Paris, France. Fans cheered as the big man in the black suit appeared, and he responded with a big wave of his hand. "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to recreate the feeling I had at the Olympics 12 years ago, but today, when I participated in the ceremony, I felt comforted," he said. "I was not going to do the ceremony because I am a shy person, but the crowd was cheering loudly, so I did it confidently." International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athlete...

Dutch sensation FW to undergo medical, sign a £60m deal until 2030

 Ineos Group's first signing is expected to be Joshua Zirkji.   "Giroud is set to undergo a medical before completing his move from Bologna to Manchester United," the BBC reported on Wednesday (June 12), citing a £33.7 million ($60 billion) deal. Fabrizio Romano, a journalist familiar with European soccer news, also reported that "Giroud is scheduled to meet with manager Eric ten Haag after the medical. Giroud will sign a 5+1 year contract until 2030. Bologna will receive the transfer fee in three installments." The Dutch international came through the youth ranks at ADO Den Haag, Feyenoord and Bayern Munich U-17s. He played professionally in Munich. He made his debut in 2019 as a substitute in the sixth leg of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage against Tottenham Hotspur. He scored his debut goal against Freiburg in December of the same year. However, he was unable to establish himself in the tough competition for a starting spot. At the time, Munich ha...

GK's 'farewell letter' to Anfield after five years at the club

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"Once red, always red," Adrian Sanmiguel, 37, has written to fans after leaving Liverpool after five years at the club. The Reds posted the letter on the club's official website on Aug. 8 (KST), along with a video message from Sanmiguel. The post was titled 'Adrian's farewell message to Liverpool supporters'. Sanmiguel is a Spanish goalkeeper born in 1987. He joined West Ham United in 2013 and has been with the club for almost six years. Initially, he was not in the starting lineup. However, he became a regular starter when first-choice keeper Jussi Jaskelainen started to show signs of aging. He was particularly impressive, with 27 goals against in 20 games and 4.4 saves per game. His 2014-15 season was considered one of the best in the Premier League. In February of that year, Adrian's PPI (Player Performance Index), the EPL's proprietary player evaluation system, ranked him second among EPL goalkeepers. Spaniard Thibaut Courtois was first, meaning th...

Rojas + Kim Sang-soo 'Combined for 4 Hits and 5 RBIs', Relay Play Perfect

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  "Rojas, Kim Sang-soo preserved the win" KT Wiz started their three-game weekend series on a high note with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Lotte Giants in the ninth game of the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Wednesday. Despite having 'Lotte Killer' Ko Young-pyo on the mound, the game didn't start well for the Giants. After a shaky start in the first inning that saw the bases loaded, Ko gave up singles to Noh Jin-hyuk and Lee Jung-geun and a walk to Hwang Sung-bin. He then gave up a leadoff double to Ko Seung-min, who was hit by a pitch. In the fourth inning, with the bases loaded, Ko Young-pyo gave up back-to-back singles to Jeon Jun-woo and Victor Reyes to put runners on first and second with no outs. It wasn't until the seventh inning that KT really started to come alive. In the top of the seventh, Kim Min-hyuk reached on an error by Lotte first baseman Na Seung-yup, and the next batter, Hwang Jae-gyun, drew a wa...