Burns bows out of taekwondo

New Zealander Tom Burns struck the toughest possible draw for his first round of the under-68kg taekwondo competition.

Burns, a 21-year-old formerly of Christchurch but now based in South Korea, faced Briton Bradly Sinden, who has impressive credentials in the sport.

Sinden, just 22, has won world championship bronze and gold medals and three European championship medals.

The New Zealander was outclassed from the start, facing a barrage of blows and kicks to his body and head. Sinden led 27-0 after the first of three scheduled rounds, and by the end of the second round had increased his lead to 53-8, at which point the contest was stopped because of the points gap.

Burns had one memorable moment late in the second round when a spectacular turning kick to the head earned him five points, but it was a rare moment of triumph in a torrid contest.

The result meant that Burns needed Sinden to go on and reach the final, which would mean the New Zealander would re-enter the tournament in the repechage stages and still be in contention for the bronze medal.

Sinden duly obliged, courtesy of a hard-fought 33-25 win over China’s Shuai Zhao in the semi-finals. Jones therefore was back in the competition, facing a repechage bout against Hakan Recber of Turkey. The New Zealander was unable to take advantage of his second chance and went down  23-8. He lost each round, 11-3, 7-2, 5-3.