Four Belgians are competing in the Taekwondo World Cup this week

Four Belgians are engaged this week at the Taekwondo World Cup being held in Guadalajara (Mexico). Arrived a week ago already, the brothers Jaouad and Badr Achab, Raheleh Asemani and Sarah Chaari, all from the Francophone Association, have acclimatized well to the context in which this competition takes place, the last important one of this long 2022 season. .

It was Raheleh Asemani, the eldest of the delegation (33 years old / world No. 10), who returned the honor of opening hostilities on Monday evening with a first fight against the Egyptian Seddik (n °37), vice-champion of Africa. And our triple European bronze medalist (2016, 2019, 2021), who is missing a medal at world level, left her opponent no chance.

After winning the first round with an implacable score of 9-0, Raheleh managed the second perfectly, winning by the smallest gap (1-0) to advance to the quarter-finals where she met the Moroccan Laaraj (n° 6), victorious over Finland’s Rahmani in three rounds (1-2, 2-1, 6-3). An excellent test, already, for our compatriot at this stage of the competition.

The face-to-face with the young Moroccan started in the best way for Raheleh Asemani who won the first round by 4-0 after two kicks to the body. But what followed was unfortunate for the Belgian who, as she headed for a draw in this second act, lost her balance and was penalized (0-1).

The third round therefore became decisive and was still very balanced until the 22-year-old Moroccan found the opening to lead 0-2, then 0-3 on penalty, when Raheleh tried everything, but she ends up bowing on the score of 1-3, synonymous with early elimination.

The rest of the Belgian world program will see Sarah Chaari (-62 kg / Tuesday), Badr Achab (-74 kg / Thursday) and finally Jaouad Achab (-63 kg / Friday) at work with a lag (seven hours) necessarily unfavorable for enthusiasts in Belgium.