MADRID, 2 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish taekwondo player Hugo Arillo gave this Friday the fourth medal to the national team in the Taewkondo World Cups that are taking place in Baku after proclaiming himself brilliant runner-up in the world in the -54 kilos category.
After Adrián Vicente (-58), Adriana Cerezo (-49) and Joan Jorquera (-63) tried without success, the man from Elche, the current Spanish champion, finally managed to overcome the hitherto insurmountable barrier of the semifinals, although he could not crown his great tour with the gold medal.
The young 18-year-old athlete from Alicante began with a comfortable victory against the Ethiopian Solomon Demse, but in his second bout he ran into resistance from the Iranian Mahdi Hajimousae, whom he beat very tightly after three rounds, two of them with a draw in marker.
In the round of 16, Arillo had to overcome the Brazilian Paulo Melo, bronze in 2019 and who had the fight practically in his hand in the final stages of the third round, while he secured at least the bronze by beating the Italian Teodoro del Vecchio.
To fight for the gold, the man from Elche had to get rid of the Turkish Gorkem Polat, current runner-up in Europe, and he did so after being overwhelming in the first round and reacting again in the final bars of the second, which seemed to be in the hands of his rival.
However, the joy could not be complete for the Spaniard since in the final, the South Korean Park Tae-Joon, current Asian champion, barely gave him any options and made him settle for a valuable silver medal, his first great international success. .