Allain Ganapin ends thrilling Paris para taekwondo run in round of 16
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino para taekwondo jin Allain Ganapin showed why he deserves his second chance in the Paris Paralympics.
Three years after missing out on his Tokyo Games debut due to COVID-19, Ganapin delivered a valiant effort in two rounds before bowing out in the men’s K44 -80kg on Saturday, August 31, at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Ganapin kicked off his campaign with a come-from-behind triumph, 22-13, against Afghan Hadi Hassanzada of the Refugee Paralympic Team in the round of 32.
Still trailing at 7-10 with over two minutes left, Ganapin unleashed a flurry of body kicks, highlighted by a turning kick that pushed him ahead, 18-10, all the way to a dominant finish to advance to the next round.
Less than an hour later, the one-armed wonder of Marikina marched as an underdog in the round of 16 against Azerbaijan’s Abulfaz Abuzarli, a gold medalist in the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Taiyuan, China last year.
Yet Ganapin again came out fighting before yielding to Abuzarli in a 12-9 thriller.
The 26-year-old Filipino looked poised to pull off an upset after turning an early 0-4 deficit to an 8-4 advantage off four straight body kicks.
But just when Ganapin inched closer to securing a quarterfinal spot, Abuzarli won a video replay challenge that triggered a quick comeback to wrest the lead at 11-9.
A gam-jeom, or a penalty, slapped on Ganapin set the final tally in favor of his Azerbaijan foe.
Despite the exit, Ganapin — who has a congenital right arm amputation — finally had the chance to showcase his wares on the world stage after painfully skipping the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
Ganapin missed his Paralympic debut as he was not permitted to leave the country then after testing positive for COVID-19. – Rappler.com