Bianca Walkden and Mahama Cho beaten in taekwondo semi-finals
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 21/08/16 2:29am
Bianca Walkden and Mahama Cho will have to settle for bronze medal fights after losing their Olympic Games taekwondo semi-finals.
World heavyweight champion Walkden was beaten 4-1 by China's Shuyin Zheng in the women's +67kg semi-finals and will have to face a repechage winner for a bronze medal at 1am.
There were only two points scored in the three two-minute round, and both of those came by kyong-go penalties, one apiece to each fighter.
That meant a golden point would settle the match and it was Zheng who secured three of them with a head shot to secure a place in the final, where she will face Maria Espinosa of Mexico.
Walkden had earlier ended the title defence of Serbia's Milica Mandic at the quarter-final stage.
Cho took a 1-0 lead in the second round thanks to a power punch landing on Isaev's chest, but a kyong-go penalty levelled the scores early in the third when he slipped to the floor.
Isaev then caught Cho with a three-point head kick but that score was taken off as it landed with the Briton prone on the mat.
But a key fall, just after he had been caught, gave the Azerbaijan fighter a two-point lead with 35 seconds remaining and Cho was unable to make up the deficit and eventually went down 4-1.
Like Walkden, he will face a repechage winner for bronze with his fight due to start at 1.15am.
Great Britain have already won two taekwondo medals in Rio with Jade Jones defending her women's -57kg title on Thursday and Lutalo Muhammad winning silver in the men's -80kg category on Friday.
