The event of Taekwondo competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing. It was held between August 20th and August 23rd at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium. The event consisted of various athletes, there were 128 Taekwondo practitioners, consisting of 64 men and 64 women. These athletes competed in 8 events, where for the first time ever, two bronze medals were awarded per event.
The highlight of the 2008 Summer Olympics were the top 3 Men Taekwondo medalists, which are: Guillermo Perez from Mexico, Yulis Gabriel Mercedes from Dominica Republic, and Mu-Yen Chu from Taipei. The top 3 Women Taekwondo medalists are: Jingyu Wu from China, Buttree Puedpong from Thailand, and Dalia Contreras Rivero from Venezuela.
Competition format
The taekwondo competition at the Olympic Games consists of a single elimination tournament. A change has been made as the IOC decided to award two bronze medals in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. However, the repechage system will be maintained and the difference will be that both winners of the respective repechage matches will receive a bronze medal.
Taekwondo competitions should be held between contestants of the same gender and weight division. Taekwondo competition involves a mat of 8 meters squared serves as the competitive arena. Taekwondo fights go three rounds of two minutes each, with a one-minute break in between. Each fighter aims to strike or score points by striking their rival in the body or head. Kicks to the torso and head are permitted, whereas punches are only allowed to the body. However, a target below the waist is not allowed.
Penalties are a way for fighters to lose points. These can be caused by things like: A punch in the face; Using the knee to attack; Attacking the area below the waistline; Stepping both feet out of the ring; Turning away from your adversary; Faking illness. The fighter who strikes down their opponent or scores the most points at the end of the three rounds wins the match. If the fight ends in a tie, a golden point round is held, with the combatant who scores the first point considered the winner.
Qualification
Medal summary
South Korea ranks first place in this competition by winning 4 gold medals in the 4 events they participated. Hadi Saei was a repeated champion, alongside Steven López, who were the only 2 Taekwondo practitioners that won medals in a streak of 3 Olympics. Next on the winning board were Chu Mu-Yen and Alexandros Nikolaidis, who also won a medal for the second time. History was made when Rohullah Nikpai became the first Afghan Olympics medalist during this event. Conclusively, Sarah Stevenson lastly won a medal in her third Olympics appearance, eliminating two-time gold medalist Chen Zhong in an unprecedented result overturn.
Men's events
Women's events
Medal table
Flagbearers
There are a large number of Taekwondo practitioners who took the pride of carrying their nation's flag in the ceremony, which are the following: Daba Modibo Keita of Mali, Deepak Bista of Nepal, Sheikha Maitha Al Maktoum of United Arab Emirates, Nesar Ahmad Bahave of Afghanistan, Miguel Ferrera of Honduras & Bineta Diedhiou of Senegal
Incident
Amongst many controversies in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the terrorist incident is one of them. On 10 April 2008, China claims to have disrupted a terror plot to kidnap athletes, journalists, and tourists during the August Olympics in Beijing by Uyghur separatists. Reports have said that these terrorists were planning suicide bombings and kidnapping activities to destroy the Olympics. In the northwestern Xinjiang province, the security ministry reported 35 arrests and bombs confiscated in recent weeks. Police uncovered another conspiracy based in Xinjiang to disrupt the Games in January after the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Chinese officials had already turned Beijing into a massive fortress in preparation for the attack. Surface-to-air missiles fire at the skies above the Olympic venues. On light poles, surveillance cameras scan the walkways. Thousands of automobiles and trucks are searched by police as they enter the city. ordinary citizens have been urged to help their native land: Thousands of middle-aged and elderly locals, many of whom were dressed in red armbands evocative of the ardent Red Guard youngsters of decades ago, were patrolling the neighborhoods, looking for even the tiniest act or person.