Shahi misses US Open Taekwondo C'ship medal

KATHMANDU, Feb 18: Asian Games medalist Manita Shahi reached the final round of the 2009 US Open Taekwondo Championship held in Las Vegas, USA, from Feb12 - 15.



According to Nepali team coach Kumar Bahadur Karki, Shahi was unfairly defeated in the final round of the poomsae category and denied a medal. [break]



"Two judges ruled in Shahi´s favor and the other two in her American opponent´s. But Achyut Baskota, now an American resident, unfairly ruled in the American´s favor," Karki lamented.


Similarly, Shahi also reached the quarterfinals of the light-weight category defeating a Canadian opponent (6-3) in the first round, and a Puerto Rican (7-0) in the second round. She lost 3-1 to the Spanish world champion in the last eight stage.



Likewise, Bima Rai (fin weight), Ayesha Shakya (feather weight), and Niranjan Shrestha (light weight), lost their respective first round bouts.



The four-day tournament featured a total of 1,741 athletes from 59 countries.