Asian Qualification Tournament for Rio 2016 Olympic Games as the last stage of the five Continental Qualification Tournaments for taekwondo kicked off on Saturday April 16 in Manila of Philippines.
Iran’s heavyweight taekwondoka Akram Khodabande (+67) conceded a defeat against the host rival on the first day of the event missing the Olympic quota.
Meanwhile, the competitions of women’s -57kg and -67kg as well as men’s -58kg and -68kg groups are being held today April 17 in Manila.
Iran’s Kimia Alizadeh (-57kg) struck and off draw in the first round before she defeated the Indonesian rival 19-0 en route to the semifinals.
A total of nine taekwondo practitioners are present in the -75kg category while Alizadeh is required to reach the finals in order to secure Olympic spots.
The Iranian outfit has so far snared three Rio 2016 berths by Ashourzadeh, Khodabakhshi and Mardani in the men’s section.
So far, participation of a total of 108 athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics has become finalized while 16 quota places will be offered at the Asian Qualification Tournament for Rio 2016 Olympic Games to be convened in Manila of Philippines on April 16−17, 2016.
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