South Korean Taekwondo Coach Protests Refereeing Error at Paris Olympics
The Korean national taekwondo team coach, Oh Hye-ri, received a warning from the World Taekwondo Federation (WT) for protesting a refereeing error during the men’s 80kg class round of 16 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
During the match between Seo Geon-woo and Chile’s Joaquin Churchil, Coach Oh strongly protested a refereeing decision that he believed was incorrect. He walked back and forth to the referee’s seat for several seconds, emphasizing his disagreement.
The officials reviewed the results and overturned the initial decision, awarding the second round to Seo Geon-woo. The error was attributed to a malfunction in the deduction frequency calculation system.
Despite the victory, Seo Geon-woo ultimately lost the competition, finishing without a medal. Coach Oh expressed regret for his actions, stating that he would apologize to the WT.
Additional Details:
Coach Oh is a gold medalist in the women’s 67kg class taekwondo at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The match against Churchil was Seo Geon-woo’s second round match in the tournament.
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