14th Annual Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) World Military Taekwondo Championship

 

October 25, 2002
By Spc. Claudette M. Roulo
318th Public Affairs Detachment (PAOC)

FORT HOOD, Texas - As countries from the former Soviet Union made a strong showing in the medal categories, competition continued in the 14th Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) World Military Taekwondo Championship.

Team Korea once again assembled along the sidelines yesterday to cheer on their teammate in the Men's lightweight finals. Priv. Gi-Duk Gun of Korea battled Ag. Sc. Claudio Nolano of Italy for the gold. Multiple attacks in the opening period left both fighters scoreless until one full minute had passed. Nolano failed to guard his right side as he drove in and Gun took his advantage to score a hit. Gun followed with another hit to Nolano's chest. Nolano responded with a flurry of kicks with a right kick to Gun's chest for a point, driving him into the corner. Gun exploded out of the corner to score and end the period.

The second period opened with a fierce attack by Gun, who left an opening for Nolano and both fighters scored on right kicks to the side. The period ended after an attack by Nolano allowed Gun another scoring opportunity.

In the third period, Gun and Nolano traded points until Nolano scored a headshot for two points. Gun brought up a high kick at Nolano's head as he drove in, walking into the kick. Nolano came away with a bloody lip and loose tooth and the referee stopped the fight. The gold medal went to Korea, with a final score of 13-6.

In the Women's Lightweight category, China's Cadet Shuo Wang and Svetlana Rumyantseva of Russia fought an uneven match for gold. Wang scored her first point at the 45-second mark after repeated attacks failed. In the second period, Wang opened with a brutal attack for one point and then exchanged a flurry of kicks with Rumyantseva for two more points. Rumyantseva scored her only point of the match in the third period with a spinning back kick to Wang's chest following a warning to Wang for unacceptable actions. Wang came back with multiple attacks, never allowing Rumayantseva to recover. The match ended 7-1, China.

The Men's Middleweight bout was plagued by technical difficulties with the scoring system, causing a long break during the first period and a shorter break during the second. 30 seconds into the match, Azerbaijan's Sgt. Tavakkul Bayramov scored two points on a hit to Ag. Sc. Mario De Meo of Italy. De Meo was left flat-footed but held off Bayramov until the period ended.

De Meo blasted Bayramov during two attacks to open the second period, but failed to score. Bayramov came back with an attack that brought De Meo down on a headshot for two more points to end the period. De Meo began the second period with a promising attack to Bayromov's chest, scoring two quick points, but De Meo incurred too many penalty points to maintain his lead and the gold went to Azerbaijan. The final score was Azerbaijan 2 ½, Italy 1 ½.

The Women's Lightweight bout found the taller Belarussian Priv. Alesia Charniauskaya pitted against Lt. Natalya Ivanova of Russia. Charniauskaya's reach didn't prove to be any advantage as Ivanova repeatedly scored after running inside and tying up

Charniauskaya. Charniauskaya pressed attack after attack only to come out scoreless until the end of the first period. Ivanova opened the second with a furious attack but was initially driven back by Charniauskaya's longer legs. Ivanova returned to the attack and scored on a headshot for two points to end the period.

In the final period, Charniauskaya attempted several attacks but stayed mostly scoreless, nailing a headshot for two points. The rest of the period was marked by repeated attacks by both fighters, with the score remaining unchanged. The bout ended 5-4, with Russia receiving the gold.

The medal winners in Thursday's competition were as follows:

Men's Lightweight
Gold: Priv. Gi-Duk Gun, Korea
Silver: Ag. Sc. Claudio Nolano, Italy
Bronze: Sgt. Rashad Ahmadov, Azerbaijan

Men's Middleweight
Gold: Sgt. Tavakkul Bayramov, Azerbaijan
Silver: Ag. Sc. Mario De Meo, Italy
Bronze: Staff Sgt. Paul Nelson, United States

 

Women's Lightweight
Gold: Cadet Shuo Wang, China
Silver: Svetlana Rumyantseva, Russia
Bronze: Yelena Pisarenko, United States

Women's Middleweight
Gold: Lt. Natalya Ivanova, Russia
Silver: Priv. Alesia Charniauskaya, Belarus
Bronze: Sgt. Suk-Youl Kang, Korea (by decision)