Taekwondo team not qualified for Olympics

Kabul): Afghan taekwondo athletes missed an opportunity to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, an official said on Sunday.

Nisar Ahmad Bahawi and Ruhullah Nikpa participated in the qualifying match in Azerbaijan on Friday, said Mohammad Arif Paiman, spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Olympic Committee.

Nikpa beat his rivals from Sudan, Kyrghistan and Finland in the 68 kg weight class, qualifying him for quarterfinal competitions.

But in the quarterfinals, Nikpa was defeated by his Iranian competitor, Baqiri Mutamid, in a close match that ended with a score of 5-6.

Nikpa had earned the first bronze medal for the country by getting third place in the 2008 Olympic Games in China.

Paiman said Bahawi was defeated in the 80 kg plus weight class on the third day of the match by his German rival in the second round.

Paiman said that none of the Afghan Taekwondo competitors qualified for the 2012 Olympics during the event in Azerbaijan, but they would have another opportunity to qualify at the upcoming Asian games.

The two players and two female taekwondo athletes, Humaira and Nila Ahmadi, will represent  Afghanistan at the Asian games scheduled to be held in five months in Thailand, he said.

myn/mbg/at

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