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Pakistan’s women taekwondo athletes saw an early exit in the World University Games as they fell to their respective opponents in the round of 16 at Sichuan University’s main campus in Chengdu on Thursday.
Pakistan Higher Education Commission had fielded two top-notch twin athletes – Manisha Ali and Maliha Ali in the event. Both the women athletes are students of Lahore Garrison University.
Manisha, who was contesting in women’s -67kg category lost to China Taipei’s Chieh-yu 3-16, 3-13, whereas Maliha conceded defeat to China’s Zeqi Zhou 0-14, 2-14 in women’s -73kg category.
Talking to APP after the contest, Maliha said that although she could not make it to the next, she was happy to represent Pakistan at the coveted event. “I’ve learnt a lot. The event is of a very high standard as the best of the best are taking part in it. This event is not less than Olympics,” she said.
She said she had been watching the competitions of all the taekwondo athletes in the event to keep abreast with the latest techniques of the game. Her sister Manisha also echoed the same sentiments. “It was a great event to learn from the world’s best athletes.
“Yes, we’ve lost, but the participation in the event has helped us to identity grey areas in our game. We are determined to perform well in our future assignments,” she added.
Around 6,500 athletes (3,512 are men and 2,988 women) from 113 countries and regions are competing in 269 events of 18 sports at World Games, scheduled to conclude on August 8.
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