Athletes in action at the 1st Qatar International Taekwondo Championship at Aspire Zone yesterday.

By Sports Reporter/Doha
 
Qatar’s Abdullah Khalil won gold in the children’s 31kg category at the 1st Qatar International Taekwondo Championship, at the Indoor Hall of the Women Sports Committee at the Aspire Zone yesterday.
On the penultimate day of the event, Khalil beat Lebanon’s Alex Barakat 10-9 in a closely-fought encounter. It was one of many medals that Qatar won as the youngsters put in an impressive performance in the Juniors, Cadets and Children categories.
In the Cadets, Qatar’s Sally Amer and Nour Moustafa clinched gold in the 55kg and 29kg categories respectively.
Later, Mayar Mukhtar added one more gold to Qatar’s tally in the Cadets female 59kg category, after she beat Shamsa Albetaihi of United Arab Emirates.
However, Qatar’s Anas Ben Sahra had to settle for silver in the junior’s 63kg category, after he went down to Saudi Arabia’s Ali Almabrouk 0-1.
There were more medals for Qatar, with Mohamed Osman and Ibrahim Ibrahim winning bronze in the Cadet’s 57kg and 33kg respectively.
In the juniors, Uzbekistan won four of the five gold medals on offer. Saidolim Numonov (73kg men), Niyaz Pulatov (48kg men), Kamronbek Yakhshiboev (63kg men) and Vlada Pan (63kg women) came out on top. Tunisia’s Ranya Naghmouchi won the other gold on offer in the juniors (49kg) catergory.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s De Hyn Lee and Frenchwoman Happy Neri were adjudged the best male and female players respectively in the senior category. South Koreans had dominated at the senior level, having won five gold and two silver. Qatar’s Marim bin Aly also did her country proud by making the podium with a bronze medal finish in the senior Female -73kg category.
The Taekwondo championships is being organised by the Qatar Taekwondo and Judo Federation (QTJF) under the umbrella of the World Taekwondo Federation. Over 800 athletes from 45 countries, representing different age groups, and around 55 international judges are participating in the championship, making it the strongest Taekwondo tournament ever in the history of the sport. The event will conclude today.