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Laos’s Pha Manyvong has made a memorable debut at the 2017 World Taekwondo (WT) Asian Para Taekwondo Open in Chuncheon, South Korea. It was an historic moment for the country’s only fighter, who only took up the sport in April 2017.
The 20-year-old from Vang Vieng had his right arm amputated above the elbow after falling from a tree at age five. He had always wanted to be an athlete, but he did not know in which sport. Manyvong’s debut in South Korea suggests he could well reach Tokyo in three years’ time. He defeated Kazakhstan’s Zhumagali Yerzhanov in the last 16 of the under 61kg K42 (13-1), before losing in the quarter final to Iran’s world No.1 Saeid Sadeghianpour.
