Two Portuguese taekwondo competitors were eliminated in the first round of the World Championships in Wuxi, China, on Tuesday, underscoring the challenge faced by lower-ranked athletes against top international talent.
Maialen Carvalho Irigaray, an unranked athlete, lost her women’s -67 kg bout to Kazakhstan’s Nuray Khussainova, who ranks 30th globally. Irigaray fell in straight sets, 2-0, with scores of 8-1 and 6-0.
In the men’s -68 kg category, Tiago Reis, ranked 334th in the world, was defeated by Jordan’s 21st-ranked Zaid Alhalawani. Reis also lost 2-0 in sets, with scores of 4-4 and 14-1. The first set was closely contested before Alhalawani dominated the second.
The Portuguese national team has a total of 14 athletes competing at the championships. The female contingent includes Kiara Barroso (-46 kg), Filipa Bastos (-53 kg), Leonor Correia (-57 kg), MaÃsa Monteiro (-62 kg), Irigaray (-67 kg), and Laetitia Barroso (-73 kg).
Male representatives are Noah Garcia (-54 kg), Tiago Lopes (-58 kg), Alfredo Martins (-63 kg), Reis (-68 kg), Lucien Propociuc (-74 kg), Manuel Martinho (-80 kg), Tiago Ribeiro (-87 kg), and Daniel Pinheiro (+87 kg).