| Taekwondo athletes Lee Da-bin, left, and Serbia's Milica Mandic fight in the final of the women's over-67 kilogram taekwondo event at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, Japan, July 27. Yonhap |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
While taekwondo is lauded for delivering medals to countries and teams that rarely reach the podium at the Olympics, it has been met with criticism for losing its high-kicking spectacular atmosphere, following the introduction of electronic scoring systems.
For the first time since the Korean martial art was officially added to the Olympics in 2000, Korea failed to win a gold in taekwondo in Tokyo this year. Lee Da-bin won the silver in the women's over-67 kilogram event while In Kyo-don and Jang Jun picked up bronze medals in the men's over-80 kilogram event and 58-kilogram event, respectively.
However, viewers expressed more disappointment with the athletes' less dynamic movements than with their losses. Many taekwondo fans complained about the loss of its trademark high-flying, high-power kicks.
In 2008, taekwondo adopted electronic sensors in competitors' "hogu," or protective armor, with the aim of upgrading transparency in scoring. However, these sensors have affected attack and defense strategies ― jabs and flicks with the front of the foot have replaced power kicks fired from the back leg. The term, "foot fencing," in which the athlete lifts up their leg, and then hops around to score a kick on the opponent's chest guard, has become widespread.
Lee Dae-hoon, ranked No. 1 in the world, who retired after being shockingly eliminated in the round of 16 at the Tokyo Olympics, shared this sentiment.
"If we look at the 30 matches at the Olympics, they all played out in a similar style. I understand why viewers say taekwondo is less impactful to watch. However, it's not easy to solve this problem. If we remove our protective armor, another problem will arise. The sport's high-ranking officials will make a decision about it to develop the sport," he told reporters, July 26.