Sanders wins bronze at Aussie Taekwondo Open

Bronze medallist Dafydd Sanders (left).

New Zealand's Dafydd Sanders won bronze at the Australian Taekwondo Open in Melbourne yesterday.

The event is one of only nine interntational tournaments ranked at G2 level and carry double world ranking points in the Olympic-style sport.Sanders made the semifinals with a 18-15 first round win over Australian Daniel Safstrom and by beating Brazil's top ranked fighter Lucas Oliveira 5-3 in the quarter-finals.

Sanders then came up against Uzbekistan's world No 2 ranked Jasur Baykuziyev in the semifinals, going down 7-1 in a tactical match.

Baykuziyev then lost on golden point in the final to Korean Lee Seung-Hwan after the match was tied 4-4 after three rounds.

Sanders was seeded four at the tournament after two G1 bronze medals this year have seen him rise to No 18 on the World rankings.

Teammate Andrea Kilday was the only other New Zealander to win a bout at the tournament, defeating Australian Deanna Kyriazopoulos 15-5, before going down 9-3 to eventual winner and world No 1 Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand, in the quarterfinals of the -46kg women's division.

Former Olympic representative Vaughn Scott put up a spirited fight before going down 23-21 against Britain's Lutalo Muhammad, the London Olympics bronze medallist.