Taekwondo Vanguard Park Tae-jun Defeats French Hope to Reach Semifinals [Paris Olympics]

Park Tae-jun (Kyung Hee University, 20), the 'vanguard' of the South Korean Taekwondo national team, advanced to the semifinals with two consecutive wins in the men's 58kg category at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

On the 7th (local time), Park Tae-jun won a closely contested round score 2-1 (8-5 3-4 5-4) against the host country's promising athlete Cyrille Labb? in the round of 16 held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ranked 5th in the Olympic sparring rankings compiled by the World Taekwondo Federation (WT) until June, just before the tournament, Park Tae-jun took the initiative from the start against Labb?, who was ranked 11th, finishing the first round 8-5. Especially, with Park Tae-jun’s left-foot-forward stance, Labb? struggled as his front-foot attacks were blocked, allowing Park to steadily accumulate points.

However, amid the one-sided cheering atmosphere from the French crowd hoping for a home gold medalist in Taekwondo, Park Tae-jun suffered an injury when his right foot collided with his opponent’s knee during a kick early in the second round. After briefly complaining of pain, Park scored with a punch attack but soon conceded a head attack, falling behind 1-3, and ultimately lost the second round 3-4 without turning the tide.

In the third round, Park Tae-jun continued a tense battle and succeeded in a body attack 29 seconds before the end of the match to take the lead. Although he received a penalty once afterward, he safely withstood Labb?’s offensive and emerged as the final winner.

Park Tae-jun is highly likely to face Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi (Tunisia), ranked 1st in the same weight class and considered a strong favorite for the championship, in the semifinals. Jendoubi will compete against Bailey Lewis (Australia, 14th) in the quarterfinals.

Jendoubi was the silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. He is a formidable opponent who defeated Korea’s sparring star Jang Jun (Korea Gas Corporation) in the semifinals at that time.

Park Tae-jun, who was first selected as a national representative in 2022 while attending Hanseong High School, is competing in his first-ever Olympics. In the Olympic qualifiers last February, he secured his ticket to Paris by defeating Jang Jun, who was ranked 3rd in the world.