Kenya's Tae Kwon Do exponents on the losing end in Turkish Open
The national Tae Kwon Do team train in Antalya, Turkey on February 11, 2022 ahead of Turkish Open.
What you need to know:
- Seeded eighth, Akinyi, who became the first woman to represent Kenya at the Olympics back in 2008, lost narrowly 13-14 to Cakal Sevval from Turkey in the round of 16
- In senior women bantamweight (-53kg), which has attracted 32 contestants, Sharon Nafula Wakoli was humiliated 25-9 by Edanur Celik (Turkey) in the round of 16
- Aluoch was also outdone in her first bout, losing 17-3 to Sila Gencer (Turkey) in the round of 16
Kenyans Mildred Akinyi “Milka” Alango (lightweight), Everlyn Aluoch (middleweight) and Sharon Nafula (bantamweight) Saturday begun the Turkish Tae Kwon Do Open in Antalya, Turkey on the wrong footing.
Seeded eighth, Akinyi, who became the first woman to represent Kenya at the Olympics back in 2008, lost narrowly 13-14 to Cakal Sevval from Turkey in the round of 16.
“I was not aggressive in the first round. I lost my bout because I put myself under pressure and I was not flexible. I have learned a lot from this experience. I’m going to work on my left side and punch. I thank God I did not get injured,” said Akinyi.
In senior women bantamweight (-53kg), which has attracted 32 contestants, Sharon Nafula Wakoli was humiliated 25-9 by Edanur Celik (Turkey) in the round of 16.
“I think I should have protected myself well by attacking more,” observed Wakoli.
Aluoch was also outdone in her first bout, losing 17-3 to Sila Gencer (Turkey) in the round of 16. Aluoch noted that her mistake was in defence. “This is an area that I need to work on to ensure I become better,” she explained.
Featherweight Mary Muriu is through to the last eight in the Senior Women (-57kg) category.
Muriu, who is seeded eighth, got a first round bye in the draw conducted on Friday night and will face Moon Yeong Soon (South Korea) who beat ninth-seed Tugba Yilmaz (Turkey) in round 16.
If Muriu manages to go past Soon, she will likely meet Tokyo 20202 Olympics bronze medallist Hatice Kubra Ilgun in the semi-finals. That is if Ilgun, who is seeded top, also wins her quarter-final match against either Bayartan Imran (Turkey) or Viktorya Kuchina (Russia).
Kenya men's team, Innocent Wafula (Middleweight) and Shawn Michael (Featherweight), start their campaign on Sunday.
Ten national teams including four from Africa (Kenya, Niger, Morocco and Central Africa Republic) and 272 clubs are competing at the Turkish Open, a ranking tournament for 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
