Kimia Alizadeh shows true fighting spirit after just losing out on a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020

Kimia

The Taekwondo refugee athlete, who had defeated double Olympic champion Jade Jones, just missed out on a chance to claim the IOC Refugee Olympic Team’s first ever medal.


Alizadeh had defeated British World No.1 Jade Jones on her way to the bronze medal match in Tokyo but the bronze medallist at Rio 2016 was unable to retain her title at Tokyo 2020.

The daughter of a tablecloth maker in Karaj, Iran, Alizadeh achieved something that looked improbable ahed of the tournament.

The refugee athlete, who fled the country of her birth, described herself as ‘one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran.’

Living and training in Nuremberg, Germany, with her husband, the 23-year-old has the support of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team scholarship that allows her to live and train in the sport that’s given her “a different life, not like others,” as she once told the Financial Times she dreamed of.

Although it wasn’t to be for Alizadeh today, her Tokyo 2020 taekwondo journey is a reminder to the world watching that the members of the Refugee Olympic Team are as competitive as they inspiring.

Alizadeh’s hard road to the bronze medal match

Her path to the medal-match was as difficult as it could possibly be.

Alizadeh started strongly defeating Nahid Kiyani 18-9 scoring freely on head and body kicks, forcing a succession of Gam-joem penalty points.

Next up was World No.1 Jade Jones of Team GB who was trying to become the first woman ever to win three consecutive taekwondo Olympic gold medals .

The two have history, while still competing under the Iranian flag Alizadeh defeated Jones at the 2015 Worlds on her way to bronze.

The Welsh double Olympic champion Jones is known as the ‘The Headhunter’ and true to her name started the fight swinging dangerous high kicks at her taller opponent, two of them finding the mark for six points.

But Alizadeh never wavered. She kept up with Jones, scoring consistently with solid thunks to the trunk.

10 points apiece with 22 seconds to go, Alizadeh scored four points worth pure gold, using her height advantage to perfection to score two more body kicks making it 14-10.

Tension made the walls in at the Makuhari Messe Hall as Jones’ team challenged a Gam-joem with just seconds left on the clock, a decision that seemed to take forever went Jones’ way but it was too late.

A late score trade made it 16-12 and meant joy for Alizadeh and dejection for Jones, as the tears flowed in the GB team camp watching on from the stands.

This felt more like a gold medal fight than a Round of 16 encounter, and Alizadeh came out on top.

A fighting spirit shines through defeat

After falling short against a strong ROC competitor in Tatiana Minina in the semifinal bout, Alizadeh’s hopes of a maiden gold for the Refugee Olympic Team slipped away.

Bronze was now the prize on offer.

The refugee athlete was joined in the bout by repechage loser Kubra Hatice Ilgun, a 28-year-old from Turkey, who was beaten by her opponent by a golden score.

The two started off faking and posturing, getting the measure of each other. Alizadeh struck first going for a three-point challenge.

The strike was immediately questioned by the number two seed’s coach, but the Iranian kept her points and Ilgun her challenge card.

At the end of the first, the score sat at 3-2.

Alizadeh continued to use her lethal front kick to keep Ilgun at bay. Moving quickly to step in, the Turk struck for two, taking the lead and clocking her own first point lead of the fight; her initial two Gam-joem penalty points.

It was lgun’s turn to lead, at the second ended: 3-4.

As the seconds counted by and the pressure continued to rise. Ilgun seized her moment well when she struck for a two, pushing the scoreline out even further against her Iranian opposition.

With momentum now entirely in her corner, the Turk launched herself into another strike, adding two more points to her tally and making any comeback from Alizadeh increasingly unlikely.

A string of Gam-joem points at the end wasn’t enough to push the refugee over the line and Ilgun took the win 8-6.

 

Kimia
CHIBA, JAPAN – JULY 25: Kimia Alizadeh Zonouzi of IOC Refugee Team celebrates after defeating Zhou Lijun of Team China during the Women’s -57kg Taekwondo Quarterfinal contest on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Makuhari Messe Hall on July 25, 2021 in Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
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