French Taekwondo ace Laurent “Idabin, don’t be too confident”

The battle for gold in the women’s 67-kilogram super-supersize category at the Paris 2024 Olympic Taekwondo Games is heating up between France’s Althea Lorin and Lee Da-bin (Seoul Metropolitan Government) just five days before the event.

“Lee Da-bin and I have fought a lot, so we know each other very well,” Lorin said at a press conference organized by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Friday (local time), adding, “I told her not to be too confident.”

Lorin is the French taekwondo favorite to win gold in this weight class and has been on a roll lately.

She was the No. 1-ranked fighter in the women’s 67-kilogram super-underweight division in the WTF’s latest rankings, which were compiled in June, just before the Olympics. She also won the world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year.

She is also a bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021.

Idavin, who will represent South Korea in Paris, won a silver medal in Tokyo.

If they meet in Paris, the final will take place at 4:37 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Lee is ranked lower at No. 4 in the Olympic rankings, but she is confident in her chances against Lorin.

“We’ve played a few times, and I’ve had better odds,” Lee, who arrived in Paris from South Korea last month, told Yonhap News Agency, adding, “I’ve also played against (Althea) once in the Grand Prix final. I’m confident,” he said.

After defeating Lorin in the semifinals of the WT World Grand Prix Finals in Manchester, England, last December with a round score of 2-0, Idabin went on to win the title.

Idabin will also meet Lorin at the 2022 WT Grand Prix Series Finals in Le Valois-Perret, near Paris, France.

With the one-sided support of the home crowd behind him, Idabin came out on top with a 2-1 round score.

Knowing this head-to-head disadvantage, Lorin quipped, “I plan to turn the tables (between the two) in this tournament,” when asked about his odds against Idabin.

Lorin will have the support of her home crowd, which will fill the historic Grand Palais in Paris.

“The Olympics is an opportunity to promote taekwondo in France,” says Lorin, who also feels the pressure of being a key player for the host nation. It will encourage more children to take up the sport,” he said.

“Taekwondo is a beautiful sport. It builds self-confidence and helps you grow as a person,” he said, adding that he hopes to capitalize on this opportunity.

At the age of 7, Lorin tried to learn karate, which is widespread in France.

But when he mistook taekwondo for karate, he was intrigued and decided to pursue the sport.

“Taekwondo has taught me a lot,” says Laurent. “It’s taught me a lot about life,” he says. “It’s taught me a lot of great values, including respect. I’m happy to be doing this sport.

“I hope more people will discover the joy of taekwondo,” he added. 메이저사이트