In this file photo from June 25, 2024, South Korean taekwondo practitioner Seo Geon-woo (L) participates in an open training session at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
PARIS, Aug. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — On the third day of the taekwondo competition at the Paris Olympics on Friday, Seo Geon-woo will become the first South Korean to compete in the men’s -80-kilogram event.
He will try to blaze the trail and win the country’s first medal in that weight division.
Seo, world No. 4, will likely have a tough path to the podium. He could run into world No. 5 from Jordan, Saleh Al-Sharabaty, in the quarterfinals. And Simone Alessio of Italy, the 2023 world champion, could be up next in the semifinals.
Also on Friday, weightlifter Yu Dong-ju will compete in his third Olympic Games in the men’s 89kg.
He finished eighth in the 96kg division at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and 13th in the 85kg event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The women’s golf tournament will continue with the third round on Friday. In the men’s semifinals in modern pentathlon on Friday, athletes compete in riding show jumping, 200-meter freestyle swimming, fencing’s bonus round, and laser run, which combines running and shooting.
(Yonhap)
