Tuesday, october 24nd, 2023.- The Chilean female’s taekwondo kyorugi team suffered a 57-16 defeat against the experienced Brazilian team in the quarter-finals of the Pan American Games. The event took place at the Centro de Deportes de Contacto del Estadio Nacional.

The Chilean team, conposed of Claudia Gallardo, Javiera López, and Deisy Guelet, couldn't overcome the Brazilian trio of Caroline Gomes, María Lima, and Sandy Leite, who demonstrated their superior experience in the discipline, achieving scores of 35-10 and 22-6 to secure a dominant victory.

Following the loss, taekwondista Claudia Gallardo acknowledged, "We didn't have high expectations. We didn't prepare for this competition because it's new, and initially, we didn't have all three team members, so we went with the idea of enjoying it. It was like old-school taekwondo."

"We tried to come up with a strategy because we know each other, and we have some chemistry, but when it comes to fighting, we are all very different," she added.

Regarding Chile's performance in the discipline, she mentioned, "As a team, we expected more from all of us and for all of us, but we still have some room for improvement.”

Written by Pedro Marín - Macarena Navias; translated by Andrés Castro / Photosport
Photo by Mauricio Ulloa / Santiago 2023 / Photosport