National taekwondo exponent Luqman Haqim Mohd Suhaimi could not hide his disappointment after settling for the bronze medal in the men’s Under-87kg event today.
The 22-year-old had won the opening round of his semi-final bout against Samuel Thomas Morrison of the Philippines. The latter, however, staged a strong comeback in the remaining rounds to pull off victory 2-1.
Luqman thus ended the competition as joint bronze medallist alongside Cambodia’s Pou Soucheng who had also lost his semi-final bout. A visibly dejected Luqman blamed a loss of focus in the latter rounds for his defeat.
“I had a comfortable lead and thought I could win the fight. He (Samuel), however, came back strong in the second and third rounds,” said Luqman, who won a bronze at the 2019 Manila SEA Games.
Malaysia also took bronze in the men’s Under-54kg class after Sebastian Tan lost to Thailand’s Ramnarong Sawekwihareie in his semi-final. Sebastian shares the bronze with Keston Pang of Singapore.
