Olympic Taekwondo judging stirs up storm of complaints

[Every Breaking Wave]

A couple of articles here...

Judging questioned after Canada's Gonda loses 1st taekwondo match

After losing her first taekwondo bout of the Beijing Games, a protest was launched on behalf of Canadian medal hopeful Ivett Gonda because of what she and her coach perceived to be unfair judging.

The Canadians believe Gonda's kicks were not properly rewarded in her 2-0 first-round loss to Hanna Zajc of Sweden. Gonda's coach Shin Wook Lim says the Canadian earned as many as seven or eight points in the match.

Their protest, however, was unsuccessful. Gonda is now eliminated from Olympic competition.

Competing in the under-49 kilogram class, Zajc took the lead in the first round when she scored a point against Gonda on a defensive kick. Her second point came when she scored on an offensive kick in the third round.

Gonda's coach suggested the Chinese judge Lei Zhao may have not been giving Gonda the points she deserved because she would have faced a Chinese athlete in the next round. Gonda is considered a medal contender in this weight class.

"I can't say for sure, but she made a point but [didn't receive] a point," Lim said. "Must be the machine's broken, I don't know. Other coaches were surprised. It's not only coming from me emotionally."

"I felt really good," added Gonda. "I was doing exactly what my coach told me. I was kicking the points, I don't know why the points weren't going up. I think I made it pretty obvious."

There are four judges in taekwondo who stand at each corner of the mat. Points are given for kicks to the chest and head, and three out of the four judges have to agree that a kick has been landed for a point to be awarded.

Lim said he believed Gonda earned as many as seven or eight points.

"I was really surprised they weren't giving her points," he said. "I was waiting but the referee totally ignored me. Usually they stop the match and the judges talk about it. But they completely ignored me."

This is deja-vu for Gonda, who at the 2004 Olympic Games lost in the semifinal to the eventual gold medallist, though officials with the Canadian team believe she should have won the semi.

Gonda, who was born in Hungary and lives in Port Moody, B.C., won gold at the 2006 Korea Open, came fifth at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and took gold at the 2004 Pan American Games.

The Canadian officials were hoping for the match to be redone when they launched the denied protest.

Taekwondo kicks up storm of complaints

Taekwondo kicked up a storm of complaints against referees and judges at the Olympic Games on Wednesday as Canadian Ivett Gonda claimed she was robbed after losing her opening match.

"Everyone is saying it's unfair. I got ripped. Everyone is saying I got ripped," said the 22-year-old, fifth in Athens four years ago, after going down 2-0 to Sweden's Hanna Zajc in the women's -49kg flyweight.

"I could crawl up and cry like a baby but I am trying to be strong. I guess this wasn't meant to be, I guess God has other ideas for me.

"The reason for no points was they didn't see it," she said after her protest was rejected. "All I can do is laugh or cry about it. I prefer to laugh."

Protests against referees and judges have been part of the taekwondo competition since the Korean-born martial art made its Olympic debut in 2000.

"The judges were not fair, not just to me, but to Africa," complained Kenyan Dickson Wamwiri after he lost to Taiwan's Athens Olympic gold medallist 7-0 in his first men's -58kg bout.

He claimed compatriot Mildred Alango also fell victim to unfair refereeing when she lost to world champion Wu Jingyu of China in her first bout.

"If the judges were fair the score would have been like 4:5," Wamwiri added.

Zajc faced misfortune in her second match after beating Gonda.

Her coach Chago Rodriguez said the Swede landed hits that didn't score.

"We were disappointed with that."

European champion and world number-five Levent Tuncat of Germany also questioned the judges after losing to Afghanistan's Rohullah Nikpai 4-3 in his first -58kg bout.

"For me it felt that I might have scored some more points," he sighed.

The fresh flare-up in refereeing controversy is a slap in the face of World Taekwondo Federation president Choue Chung-Won. He has insisted fair officiating is imperative for taekwondo to be retained as an Olympic sport.

"I will not hesitate to impose whatever is necessary, should you disgrace taekwondo or the WTF in any way," Choue told a meeting of referees here on Monday.

"The referees and judges involved in inappropriate action or in making grave mistakes will not be tolerated and will no longer be allowed to officiate at WTF-promoted events, including this Olympic taekwondo competition."

Sometimes you just have to wonder...