AL SADEQ MAKES TAEKWONDO HISTORY
Aug 10, 2018
Juliana Al Sadeq has made history by becoming the first female Taekwondo fighter from Jordan to medal at a World Grand Prix event.
Al Sadeq was in the form of her life as she made it through to the semi-final of the -67kg event in Moscow where she lost by a solitary point, 11-10, to Lauren Williams, of Wales, who went on to lose the final.
Earlier she beat Ukraine’s Daria Yakuvelvia, 10-4, and then the USA’s Paige McPherson – the world’s fourth seed and Olympic bronze medallist.
In the quarter-final she overcame South Korea’s Su Yung on the golden point after they drew 7-7 in regular time.
The victory makes Al Sadeq only the second Jordanian to win a medal at a World Grand Prix event, following in the footsteps of Olympic gold medallist Ahmad Abu Ghaush who missed the event through injury.
He won a gold and a bronze last year. Meanwhile, teammate Hamzeh Qattan went out in the quarter-final of +80kg weight after losing to Gabon’s Antoni Obami.
Qattan launched his campaign with wins over Poland’s Peter Hatuski and World No 1 and European Champion, Vladislav Larin, of Russia, before losing in the last eight.
