Canada keeps hunting tickets for Tokyo 2020

Like a lion behind its prey. This is how the hunt for direct tickets to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is maintained, by Canadians Ivette Yong and Skylar Park; and the Mexican Briseida Acosta and Maria Espinoza.

Park won the 20 points of the Olympic ranking, after competing on Friday the WT Pan Am President’s Cup G2 2019, in Las Vegas. He did it in the -57kg.

While Yong and Espinoza took second place of -46kg and -73kg, respectively. Meanwhile, Acosta retired in the semifinals for reasons that did not transcend.

"They are 20 points of the ranking that at this moment are very important. (…) I am very excited about it and we will see what happens with the direct classification. Now comes the Grand Prix of Sofia, Bulgaria; and the Moscow Grand Prix Final would be the last event"Park told MasTKD.com.

Yvette Yong and Skylar Park are two of the five chips that America has in the strenuous fight to get straight to the four-year event next year. In fact they are the ones with the most real possibilities. The Mexicans are in the same Olympic weight and in the end, to get the pass, only one can attend Tokyo.

Direct rankings from America to Olympic depend on three countries

Yong spoke with MasTKD.com just after his final against Mexican Brenda Costa Rica.

"They are valuable points, although I had the chance to have 20 extra points, in the end I achieved valuable points to qualify. (…) Now I go to China to the Chinese Military Games“Yong said.

Maria Espinoza stayed in the final after bumping into Puerto Rican Crystal Weeks. Briseida Acosta went with firm step in the different facets, but for personal reasons she retired from semis.

But we go result to result.

-46kg:

The final was between Yvette Yong and Brenda Costa Rica. The Mexican left the gold with a score of 10-5.

His participation in the WT Pan Am President’s Cup G2 2019 started two fights back against Ellie Bezanson. There he overcame 25-2 and then won the Brazilian Valeria Santos 17-13.

In this way, Costa Rica maintains its streak of hunting medals in all the events of 2019 in which it participated. He started the season with the Dominican Republic Open where he won gold, as in the Puerto Rico Open and Mexico Open; He later obtained silver at the Sofia Open and now goes back to bathe in gold in Las Vegas.

-49kg:

The winner of this division was Su Po-Ya, from Taipei. The Asian faced her countryman Jhuan Tien-Yu in the final and closed the three outings with an 11-8.

To access this final instance, the Taiwanese had to beat Lizette Salas (USA), Josipa Kafadar (CAN), Muju's 2017 world bronze, Andrea Ramirez (COL); to Nivea Barros (BRA) and finally to Tien-Yu.

Po-Ya is the current world champion of the Universiade Napoli 2019 and is in 20th place in the -57kg Olympic ranking, division in which he made all his official matches in the past.

-53kg:

Anastazija Zolotic did his thing again, now in front of his people. The American Pan American champion made four fights to pave the access to the 20 points.

The result could make her ascend a position in the Olympic ranking and position herself in the eighth box of the -57kg. That would guarantee him a pass to the Grand Prix Final in Moscow and consequently fight the ticket directly to Japan.

But returning to Las Vegas, Zolotic began his day beating his compatriot Melina Daniel, then Julissa Diez Canseco (PER), Fabiola Villegas (MEX) and fighting the final against Samantha Leong.

In that last contest Zolotic was overwhelming and prevailed with a 45-10 inflation.

-57kg:

Skylar Park was the winner of this division, although in the semifinals he reacted until the middle of the second round where he had to turn the scoreboard in a fight that Carolena Cartens had dominated.

Park, unrecognizablely passive at the beginning, kept the lethal front leg that characterizes him and that was when he started adding. The Panamanian on the other hand could not sustain and respond to the inquisitor fire of her rival and her final pass slipped out.

Already in the end, the Canadian faced Taiwanese Lo Chia-Ling and cooked her hunted 20 points with a 9-6.

The road to gold started with the victory over Ecuadorian Mell Mina, then against Kuan-Yu Chaung (TPE), Carolena Cartens (PAN) and Lo Chia-Ling.

This result could catapult Skylar to fourth place in the November Olympic ranking and it would be a matter of a month to tie its space for Tokyo 2020.

-62kg:

Images of the 2019 WT President’s Cup G2 Premier “Las Vegas 2019”

Ashley Kraayeveld, from Canada, champions in this category after beating Mexican Leslie Single. For this he won Ara White (USA), quarterfinals Barbara Dias (BRA) and eighths Camila Caceres (PER).

This is the second medal that the Canadian won in 2019, after having silver in the Puerto Rico Open, at the beginning of years; according to the MasTKD.com registry.

-67kg:

Melissa Pagnotta gave a key chair after winning the final to Cheyenne Lewis who was unstoppable. The Canadian took the gold, but not before playing three matches.

The day for Pagnotta started in the quarterfinals with Skylar Farrel, then passed against Milena Tittoneli and closed with Lewis.

-73kg:

Crystal Weeks beat Maria del Rosario Espinoza 10-6 in the final, after arriving there, beating Mason Porh (USA) and Raphaella Galacho (BRA).

Weeks frustrated the possibility of the 20 points of the ranking to a urged Mary to add as much as possible to join forces with her partner Briseida Acosta and visa the bill to Japan.

Although the Mexican made the two previous fights in an almost perfect technical-tactical way; Sinaloense failed to decipher Weeks.

+ 73kg:

Jackie Walloway returned to the international stage after having all of 2019 without fighting a single official event. And he won again.

Is that the American became a full weight champion after beating the Pan American champion, Gloria Mosquera, of Colombia; with a very close and get excited 8-7.

Walloway was winning in the absence of four seconds to end the contest; but mosquera began to add and turned the score. It was at that moment when the central referee stopped the fight in the absence of four seconds and when he gave the order to restart, the American got up early to the coffee maker with one to the case irremountable.

-54kg:

Cesar Rodriguez returned to the top of the podium and won the pulse of Brazilian Paulo Melo, in a final with clenched teeth that ended with a very tight 7-6.

The Aztec perfectly managed the distance cut, the fist and the front leg, to guarantee the gold. First he did it against his countryman Moises Rodriguez, then against Juan Carlos Norzagaray (USA), his next victim was Gergely Salim (HUN) and finally the Brazilian Melo.

The 20 points fall to Rodriguez as water in the desert, after he began to yield points of the Olympic ladder and gradually diluted the possibility of a ticket for Tokyo 2020.

-58kg:

Jack Woolley snatched the final to the runner-up of the world Brandon Plaza, on a very long day that consisted of four fights of great demand, especially in semis and final.

With a difference of 20 points, the Irishman passed the 16th, then rolled Heiner Oviedo (CRC) with a 40-0 and in six he took six points of difference to Jefferson Ochoa (COL), the final – as logic dictates – was the Proof of fire forced to spread.

In this way Woolley could jump to fifth place in the Olympic ranking and thereby hold on to the right to play the Grand Prix Final that gives 80 points to the winners and $ 5000.

-63:

Carlos Navarro won his fourth gold in this new division after beating Brazilian Joao Souza 26-17 in an extremely tactical fight with little room for decentralization.

Tied in making the opponent fail at a distance, Navarro was able to take advantage of his explosiveness and thereby remain a winner.

For gold the Mexican made four high, very high voltage fights.

-68kg:

Carl Nickolas gave the surprise in the -68kg division after winning the category for the first time in an official event, according to the MasTKD.com database.

Nickolas played the final against Ignacio Morales (CHI), the semifinal against Iker Casas (MEX), the quarters with Siddhartha Bhat (CAN), eighth with Werdell Samotshozo (BOT) and Adrian Benitez (PUR) in 16th.

This is the first time Nickolas participated in a Cope President and managed to be crowned in the division with more registered athletes.

-74kg:

Edival Pontes, better known as Netinho, was the one who consecrated himself in this category and puts Brazilian selectors in even more trouble, since his team has been performing evenly without distinction of weights.

Pontes took the final to the Mexican Rene Lizarraga and with that he gains confidence in the face of a possible continental Olympic qualifier next March. Although your quota is not insured.

The Brazilian took the task in semis against the American Thomas Rahimi, the fourths to Andrew Park, the eighths to Kim Shohwon and 16ths to Benjamin Regalado.

-80kg:

Word Taekwondo President’s Cup G2 Premier “Las Vegas 2019”

This was the weight that most show came with figures such as Aaron Cook, Maxime Potvin, Liu Wei-Ting, Miguel Angel Trejos, Uriel Adriano, Moises Hernandez, among others.

Taiwanese Liu Wei-Ting decrypted the locks of athletes like Jaysen Ishida in the final; Miguel Angel Trejos, in semis; or Uriel Adriano in rooms. Not to mention the other fights that were made before.

With Trejos, in semis for example, the contest was very shocking and forced the Asian to feel uncomfortable all the time, even when he started attacking.

-87kg:

Ícaro Miguel Soares continues at a steady pace and won the gold after defeating Taiwanese Lee Meng-En 19-5.

Soares, who has been harvesting world, continental and open medals; remains firm in the fight for a good position for the March Continental Olympic Qualifier.

The Brazilian started in the quarter by beating the Mexican Daniel Zuniga, then semis to the United States and the final to the Asian.

+ 87kg:

Carlos Sansores, one of Mexico's letters to fight the pre-Olympic, won first place after beating Maicon Siqueira.

Sansores, with a crisp 21-10, did his thing and increased differences thanks to his front dollyo.

The Aztec performed his work first with Luis Espinoza, then with Martinio, then with Russell Gresham and later Sequeira.

Esteban Mora, Exclusive MasTKD.com