Olympics taekwondo: Britain’s Caden Cunningham to go for men’s +80kg gold, Rebecca McGowan to fight again
Britain’s Caden Cunningham will bid for Olympic taekwondo gold later on Saturday – and Rebecca McGowan will fight again for a chance at bronze.
Cunningham, competing at his first Olympics, stunned Rio 2016 champion Cheick Sallah Cisse in the men’s +80kg semi-finals.
The pair were tied at 1-1 going into the final round of the best-of-three match – and, as the clock ticked down, the score in the decider was level at 5-5.
But Cunningham, 21, was judged to have had more shots and was declared the winner.
Cunningham will face Iran’s Arian Salimi in the final at 20:18 BST, knowing he is guaranteed at least a silver medal in Paris.
Asked how he would prepare for the final, Cunningham said: “Chill, eat a banana, drink, smile and warm up.
“I plan to come out victorious, so happy days.”
Bianca Cook, a two-time Olympic bronze medallist for GB, praised Cunningham’s maturity during the fight.
“That match was going to be so tight, down the wire, but Caden kept his cool,” she said on BBC TV.
“They’re both such strong characters. They knew what they needed to do to get the edge over each other and Caden was fantastic.”
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