Aiming for the ultimate medal in Taekwondo… Lee Da-bin advances to 67kg+ semi-finals

Lee Da-bin competes against Petra Stolbova of the Czech Republic at the 2024 Paris Olympics taekwondo over 67kg women’s preliminaries held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France on the 10th (local time). Paris = Reporter Yang Hoe-seong yohan@donga.com Taekwondo Da-bin Lee won the semi-finals of the 67kg class and advanced to the semi-finals.

Lee Da-bin defeated China’s Zhou Zeqi 2-1 (4-2, 3-8, 7-6) in the women’s over 67kg taekwondo quarter-finals match at the Paris 2024 Olympics held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France on the 10th. (local time).

Lee Da-bin is ranked 4th in this weight class based on Taekwondo world rankings as of June. Zhou Zechi is ranked 10th, and if you look at the rankings, Dabin Lee is one step ahead.

However, Zhou Zeqi has shown a particularly strong side to Dabin Lee.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held last year, Zhou Zechi defeated Lee Da-bin in the final and won a gold medal.

This game was also very tight. Lee Da-bin was on the verge of elimination, but won with a last-minute comeback.

Lee Da-bin, who won the first round 4-2, lost in the second round with a score of 3-8.

In the third round, the game started unevenly as it was tied 0-5 right after the game started.

The lost lead continued until 18 seconds remained in the game. With 18 seconds left, Da-bin Lee could only score 2 points and conceded 6 points to Zhou Zhiqi.

However, a surprising turnaround appeared with 18 seconds remaining.

Lee Da-bin’s toe aimed at the head hit the mark, earning 3 points, and as the opponent fell as a result of this attack, one point was added to the opponent’s point, making the score tied.

With 4 seconds left, the referee noticed that Zhou Zhiqi, who was attacking Lee Da-bin’s head, had caught Lee Da-bin, and a point result was added to Zhou Zhiqi.

In the end, Lee Da-bin won the third round with a score of 7-6 and advanced to the semi-finals.

Lee Da-bin, Korea’s strongest player in this weight class, has already won the World Championships held in Manchester, England in 2019 and the Asian Championships in Manila, Philippines in 2016. In 2018, he also won a gold medal at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.

If she wins a gold medal at these Olympics, it will be possible to complete a career slam of medals in all major competitions.

The semifinals will be held shortly after at 11:20 PM (Korean time) on the 10th.

Reporter Wonju Lee takeoff@donga.com