Jun Jang of Korea won gold in the men’s -58kg, crowd favourite Shuai Zhao of China won the men’s -68kg, Maksim Khramtcov of Russia secured gold in the -80kg and Sajjad Mardani of Iran won the men’s +80kg. In the women’s categories, number two seed Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand won gold in the -49kg, Lijun Zhou of China succeeded in the women’s -57kg, and Lauren Williams and Bianca Walkden, both of Great Britain, won the -67kg and +67kg respectively.
Grand Slam Champions Series semi-finals showcase very best of the sport
M-58kg
The men’s -58kg category saw number two seed Jun Jang of Korea see off Yushuai Liang of China 3-0 in the first final of the day. The bronze medal was claimed by Amin Hadipour Seighalani of Iran after he defeated Tae-hun Kim of Korea 3-2 in an incredibly tight match-up.
M-68kg
Much to the delight of the home crowd, Shuai Zhao of China landed the title winning blow in a golden point round of the men’s -68kg. Zhao saw off a valiant Bradly Sinden of Great Britain in a terrific final. The bronze was won by pre-tournament favourite Dae-hoon Lee of Korea after he beat Javier Perez Polo of Spain.
Third day of Grand Slam Champions Series sets up intriguing semi-finals
M-80kg
Number one seed Maksim Khramtcov of Russia secured gold in the men’s -80kg after he defeated Hwan Namgoong of Korea 3-1 in the final. The bronze was claimed by Milad Beigi Harchegani of Azerbaijan, who beat Linglong Chen of China.
M+80kg
The men’s +80kg saw a major shock as number one seed Kyo-don In of Korea lost to Sajjad Mardani of Iran in a scintillating golden point round. Zhaoxiang Song of China won bronze by beating fellow countryman Hongyi Sun.
Exhilarating second day of action at Grand Slam sees high-profile stars progress
W-49kg
Number two seed Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand convincingly overcame Min-Ah Ha of Korea 2-0. Xueqin Tan of China saw off Bora Kang of Korea to win bronze.
W-57kg
In the women’s -57kg, Lijun Zhou of China won gold in front of the ever-animated home crowd. Zhou narrowly defeated Jade Jones of Great Britain 2-1 in what was probably the best final of the day. Number two seed Ah-Reum Lee of Korea beat Marija Stetic of Croatia in the bronze medal match.
W-67kg
Lauran Williams of Great Britain added to her Manchester Grand Prix title by convincingly seeing off Nur Tatar Askari of Turkey in the final of the women’s -67kg. The Bronze was won by Ruth Gbagbi of Ivory Coast after she beat Yunfei Guo of China 2-0.
W+67kg
Number one seed and pre-tournament favourite, Bianca Walkden of Great Britain won the women’s +67kg. Walkden secured the gold by defeating Madelynn Gorman-Shore of USA 2-1.Aleksandra Kowalczuk of Poland won the bronze by beating Rebecca McGowan of Great Britain 2-1.
The Grand Slam Champions Series ends a fantastic and successful calendar year for World Taekwondo and its athletes.
MasTKD Team by WT