Malaysia’s Asian Games medal hope slips – by 0.03 point

 

Taekwondo athlete Nurul Hidayah Abdul Karim was disappointed after securing 7.780 points in the poomsae routine but failed to secure a semi-final spot. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Just three-hundredths of a point (0.03) made the difference to Malaysia’s chances of a medal placing at the taekwondo event at the Asian Games today.

Poomsae exponent Nurul Hidayah Abdul Karim had been confident of securing a semi-final spot when she scored 7.780 points after two bouts – but Iranian athlete Marjan Salahshouri went through, on the basis of a 0.03 point advantage.

Malaysia’s attempt at a protest was to no avail, according to Berita Harian. National coach Jin Jun Beom said: “Hidayah should have won. In the second fight, her performance was definitely perfect, she didn’t make any mistakes. But I saw the Iranian athlete make mistakes.

“I wanted to make a protest but the decision cannot be changed. It is very disappointing after the hard work they had put in to face this Asian Games,” Jin was quoted as saying.

Nurul Hidayah, from Bintulu, Sarawak, said: “It was a very painful decision. I did my best and there was no mistake in my actions. If I advanced to the semi-finals, a medal is definitely within my grasp because there are two bronze medals in this event,” she said.

She reached the quarter-finals after defeating Chu Lok Yee of Hong Kong with 7.7 points compared to Chu’s 7.470.

Another taekwondo athlete, Jason Loo, also lost in the quarter final, putting an end to Malaysia’s campaign. - FMT