Taekwondo: Sarah Chaari pulls off an impressive feat!
By winning the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Manchester in the under 67 kg category, Sarah Chaari has become the first Belgian to win a gold medal at such a high level of competition, qualifying for the Paris Olympics in the process.
Already world champion in the under 62 kg category in 2022, in both junior and senior categories, Sarah Chaari set her sights even higher this year. The Charleroi native has now won the final of the highly prestigious World Grand Prix in Manchester (UK) in the under 67 kg category.
To reach this final stage of the competition, the 18-year-old Belgian defeated Britain's Lauren Williams 2-1 (14-13, 8-10, 10-0) in the last 16, then the Czech Petra Stolbova 2-0 (6-1, 9-4) in the quarter-finals, before going on to eliminate Julyana Al-Sadeq of Jordan 2-1 (10-14, 2-0, 7-1) in the semi-finals.
In the final, against Mengyu Zhang from China, two rounds (6-4, 16-4) were enough for the Belgian taekwondoka (or rather "taekwondoist" according to the official name used for this Korean martial art) to take victory.
Having won two silver medals this season at Grands Prix in Rome (Italy) and Taiyuan (China), the athlete, currently studying medicine, can finally savour her first gold medal at such a high level. A Belgian first in this sport!
Thanks to this stunning victory, Sarah Chaari has also qualified for the forthcoming Olympic Games in Paris, with real hopes of a podium finish for Belgium.