Ulugbek Rashitov wins historic taekwondo medal for Uzbekistan

Ulugbek Rashitov celebrates winning a gold medal in taekwondo (Getty Images)

The taekwondo men's featherweight (68kg/150lbs) final was a day of firsts for Ulugbek Rashitov. The 19-year-old defeated Bradly Sinden (BGR) 34-29 in the last eight seconds of the match to claim his first Olympic gold. The medal was also Uzbekistan's first of the Tokyo Games and the country's first in taekwondo. 

Rashitov was seeded 17th and was not favored to win, but after coming from behind to upset top-ranked Lee Dae-Hoon (KOR) in Round of 16 competition he emerged as a threat. Sinden was a No. 2 seed entering the gold medal match, and his silver is the first Olympic medal of his career. Both Zhao Shuai (CHN) and Hakan Recber (TUR) received bronze. 

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In the women's featherweight (57kg, 126 lbs) finals, American Anastasija Zolotic downed Russian Tatiana Minina to become the first American woman ever to win gold in an Olympic taekwondo event. Hatice Ilgun (TUR) and Lo Chia-Ling (TPE) won bronze. 

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