Taiwan’s Wang Yi-ta on Saturday qualified to compete at the Tokyo Olympics after taking second at the World Karate Federation’s men’s final qualifier in Paris, saying he hopes to clinch a medal at the Games.
The 29-year-old Wang follows Wen Tzu-yun, who last month received a quota allocation to compete in the Games in the women’s karate competition.
After a final series of round-robin matches involving four competitors, Wang, the 2018 Asian Karate Championships runner-up, finished second in men’s kata with four points, following Ariel Torres Gutierrez of the US, who scored six points.
Photo: CNA
Iran’s Abolfazl Shahrjerdi and South Korea’s Park Hee-jun, who both lost to Wang with two points, were the other two qualifiers. Park ended the tournament third, winning the final spot at the Games.
Wang said he was not performing at his best until the semi-final, and had hoped to finish first.
However, overall, he said he had done his best in the competitions and did not regret the results, adding that he hoped to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Wang won a silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and gold at the 2019 National Games in Taoyuan.
Having become a father last year, Wang said he cherished the little time he had with his family during his training.
“My fatigue from the day actually went away after I saw my wife and child,” he said.
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