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Can China’s Jingyu Wu Seize a Record 3rd Olympic Gold?
Bestriding the lightest of the female weight categories like a mini-colossus is Chinese sensation Jingyu “Superkicker” Wu. Arguably the most dominant player in taekwondo, male or female, Wu already has two Olympic gold medals under her black belt and will be seeking a third in Rio. If she wins that, it will be historic: Three Olympic golds is a feat that no taekwondo fighter has so far achieved.
But there is no sure thing in any sport, and she will be facing a steep challenge from four fighters who will have analyzed every inch of her world-beating game: Thailand’s Panipak Wongpattanakit, Croatia’sLucija Zaninovic, South Korea’s So-hui Kim and France’s Yasmina Aziez.
The Chinese fighter utterly dominated 2015 World Taekwondo Grand Prix (GP) series. Having skipped the first event in Moscow, she started her winning run at the Samsun GP Series 2 in Turkey, routing Aziez in the semifinals, 17-0, so winning by 12-point gap. (In taekwondo, if a fighter seizes a 12-lead, the match is halted.) In the finals, she beat Wongpattanakit 24-12 – another point gap win. It is extraordinary for any athlete to win with 12-point gaps at this level of competition, and this shows Wu’s quality. There was more to come. In the Manchester GP Series 3, she won the gold medal after winning every single match by point gap. And at the GP Final in Mexico City, she defeated Aziez again in the final, seizing the number one ranking position in the category from Zaninovic.
Wu delights spectators with the versatility of her repertoire. Her game management is textbook. In the first round, she reads her opponent’s game – footwork, kicks and defensive movement. In the second, she takes the fight to her opponent using her trademark style: She has excellent upper body balance allowing her to wield the crowd-pleasing ax kick to the opponent’s head; she also likes the spinning back kick. She uses both arms to feint, maintains equilibrium and mounts a defense that is as impenetrable as the Great Wall.
Source: WTF
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