New quota provides more chances for Chinese taekwondo in Rio Olympics

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New quota provides more chances for Chinese taekwondo in Rio Olympics

By Sportswriter Wu Junkuan (Xinhua) 07:54, September 05, 2013

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After harvesting one gold, one silver and one bronze medal in the London Olympics Games, the Chinese taekwondo team is expecting a more fruitful future in the 2016 Rio Olympics under a new quota allocation system.

"Last year we had three players competing in London and won three medals. The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) introduced a new quota allocation system for the Olympic Games this year, which means we have the chance to send more athletes to compete in Rio and vie for more medals in 2016," said Cao Tao, vice secretary-general of the Chinese Taekwondo Association, during the on-going National Games here on Wednesday.

"Under the former system, if our players want to compete in the Olympics, they have to go through two qualification tournaments, one world-level and one continental level. And only the top three finishers in each qualification tournament can book a berth in the Olympics. Each country or region can send two men and two women at most," Cao explained.

"According to the new quota allocation criteria, any athlete positioned in the top six of the WTF Olympic ranking list following the 2015 Grand Prix Final shall automatically qualify a place in Rio, giving us a chance to send one player in each of the eight categories."

Two-time Olympic champion Wu Jingyu will be China's biggest hope to grab a gold in Rio. The 26-year-old clinched back-to-back gold in Beijing and London in women's 49kg class and will make history if she can finish the "hat-trick" in Rio.

"Wu is born for taekwondo with her smooth techniques, physical and mental qualifications and also her hard work," said Cao. "She will turn 29 in 2016 but actually I am not worried too much about her form and techniques. As long as she can handle her personal life well, Wu will be still among the hottest favorites in Rio."

Since winning the gold medal at the fifth Chinese City Games, a quadrennial multi-sports meet only featuring youth athletes, in 2003, the 1.68-meter-high Wu has been a phenomenal figure in the country's taekwondo community, sweeping almost all the gold medals in national-level tournaments she competed in and also claiming a series of international titles ranging from 47kg to 53kg categories.

However, after the London Olympics, Wu did not take systematic training for more than half a year as she was busy with her college study as well as commercial and public welfare activities.

As a result Wu has gained some weight and had to compete in the 57 class for the first time in the National Games. Although Wu only settled with a bronze medal, she was quite satisfied with her performance and set to return to 49kg after the all-important sports meet in China and start her buildup for the 2016 Rio Games.

The 25-year-old Hou Yuzhuo, world top ranked player in women's 57kg and silver medalist in London, also met her Waterloo in Shenyang as the defending champion missed a podium finish.

"Hou is more of a defence-and-counter-attacking type in her game. This could be a disadvantage for her especially when she is trailing behind," said Cao. "She has to work harder on this aspect in her training."

"China is among the world leading powerhouses in women's taekwondo. Apart from Wu and Hou, Guo Yunfei (67kg), Zhang Hua (67kg) and Zheng Shuyin (+67kg) are all capable of standing top six in the Olympic ranking list and fighting for a medal in Rio," Cao said.

The 22-year-old Guo won the 67kg gold at the 2010 Asian Games, while the budding star Zheng, 19, won the +67 gold at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Both Guo and Zheng claimed a title in the on-going National Games here.

"As for the men's part, Liu Xiaobo, who won a bronze in London last summer, will turn 32 in 2016. But luckily several young athletes are rising up," said an optimistic Cao, referring to promising stars such as newly-crowned national champions Ma Zhaoyong, Bai Xinlong and Qiao Sen.

The 16-year-old Bai claimed the Asian youth title in men's 68kg last year. Ma finished second in +80kg class at the 2013 World Championships in July in Puebla, Mexico. In the National Games +80kg final Ma beat Liu 8-3 to claim the title.

Since Taekwondo was first introduced to China's National Games in 1994, the sport has witnessed a rapid development in China in the past 10 years. So far there are some three million youngsters receiving taekwondo training in sorts of clubs all around the country.

The taekwondo competitions of the 12th National Games merely consist of the eight Olympic categories, featuring 134 athletes from 35 delegations.