Tunisia's Firas Katoussi, centre, celebrates with his coaches after winning the gold medal in the men's 80kg taekwondo. AP
Tunisia's Firas Katoussi, centre, celebrates with his coaches after winning the gold medal in the men's 80kg taekwondo. AP
Tunisia's Firas Katoussi, centre, celebrates with his coaches after winning the gold medal in the men's 80kg taekwondo. AP
Tunisia's Firas Katoussi, centre, celebrates with his coaches after winning the gold medal in the men's 80kg taekwondo. AP

Firas Katoussi is Tunisia's golden boy after victory in taekwondo at Paris 2024 Olympics


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Tunisia's Firas Katoussi captured Olympic gold as he deservedly defeated Iran's Mehran Barkhordari in the final of the men's -80kg taekwondo competition on Friday night.

Katoussi, 28, won the decider two rounds to nil having nicked the opener 4-2 and then showing poise and control to clinch the second 5-1.

The Tunisian found himself trailing 2-0 going into closing stages of the first session, but produced an inspired spinning back kick to the body for a four-point score to steal the round from the stunned Iranian.

It felt pivotal and so it proved. Katoussi masterfully nullified his increasingly desperate opponent and then punished him with a head kick to move to the brink of glory.

The tall Tunisian punched the air as time ebbed away and he knew gold was secure.

Tunisia's Firas Katoussi, left, competes against Iran's Mehran Barkhordari in the taekwondo men's -80kg gold medal bout. AP
Tunisia's Firas Katoussi, left, competes against Iran's Mehran Barkhordari in the taekwondo men's -80kg gold medal bout. AP

His victory follows Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi's bronze in the -58kg class making this a very fruitful taekwondo competition for Team Tunisia.

Earlier in the day, Katoussi, the African champion and a former world bronze medallist, had shown sensational form as he powered into the final.

He had too much for USA's Carl Nickolas 2-0 in the semi-final as he ensured a medal for his nation. Before that Katoussi had eased past Denmark's Edi Hrnic in the quarter-final, which came after a dominant win over Australia's Leon Sejranovic in his opener.

Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Jordan's Julyana Al Sadeq in the women's -67kg division as she lost her quarter-final to Jie Song of China.

Al Sadeq, the no 2 seed, had hopes of going all the way but came up short in a tense last-eight battle that went the full three rounds.

She made Song battle for every point but lost the second and third rounds by scores of 3-2 and 2-1.

The 29-year-old had earlier showcased her ability with a dominant victory over Fiji’s Lolohea Naitasi in her opening contest.

A disappointed Julyana Al Sadeq of Team Jordan exits the mat after her quarter-final defeat to Jie Song of China. Getty Images
A disappointed Julyana Al Sadeq of Team Jordan exits the mat after her quarter-final defeat to Jie Song of China. Getty Images

Elsewhere in the women's -67kg division, Egypt's Aya Shehata was also defeated in the last eight. Shehata lost to Belgium's Sarah Charri 2-0.

There was a further blow for a Jordanian team who had begun the day on a high after Zaid Kareem's silver medal the night before.

Saleh El Sharabaty, silver medallist at the Tokyo Games, suffered a shock defeat in his Round of 16 -80kg match against Brazil's Henrique Rodrigues Fernandes.

El Sharabaty lost the opening round 4-1 and was at one point 11-1 down to his Brazilian opponent in the second before making it slightly more respectable at 12-5.

In the same weight class, hopes of a first taekwondo medal for the Refugee Olympic Team were dashed after Farzad Mansouri also lost at the Round of 16 stage.

Mansouri narrowly lost the first round 10-7 to second seed CJ Nickolas. The next round proved a much lower scoring affair with the American taking it 3-1 after Mansouri had an appeal for a head kick rejected.

Mansouri, who was Afghanistan’s flag bearer at the Tokyo Olympics, has settled in the UK having fled the Taliban in 2021.

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

ESSENTIALS

The flights 
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Quick facts on cancer
  • Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases 
  •  About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime 
  • By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million 
  • 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries 
  • This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030 
  • At least one third of common cancers are preventable 
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    strategies 
  • The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion

   

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The specs

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Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
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In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."

Baby Driver

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James

Three and a half stars

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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57%20Seconds
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: August 10, 2024, 5:26 AM`