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Jordan’s Zaid Kareem won a superb silver medal after putting up a stirring effort in the Olympic -68kg taekwondo final against Uzbekistan's defending champion and number one seed Ulugbek Rashitov.
Kareem was competitive against his decorated opponent, but it was Rashitov who combined some sublime skill with a little luck to retain his crown on Thursday night.
The two men hugged and embraced up on the balcony at the Grand Palais – the opulent setting for the taekwondo in Paris – as they were introduced to the crowd.
The niceties stopped there though, and it was Kareem, 23, who landed the first scoring blow as he took a 2-0 lead with a kick to the body.
Rashitov immediately showed his class by landing a spinning back kick to Kareem’s head, earning the maximum five points to lead 5-2.
A late body attack reduced the arrears to 5-4 but the Jordanian had it all to do.
With the second round delicately poised at 2-0 to the Uzbek, Kareem had a review for a head kick turned down in somewhat controversial fashion.
It was a marginal call but the Jordanian number six seed might well feel aggrieved. After that the Uzbek stayed out of trouble to seal gold having not lost a single round in the entire competition.
Kareem’s silver - his nation's first medal at these Games - continues a golden era for Jordanian taekwondo. At the Rio Games in 2016 Ahmad Abughaush topped the podium in the -68kg division before Saleh El Sharabaty (-80kg) won silver in Tokyo three years ago.
El Sharabaty competes once again in Paris. His 80kg campaign begins on Friday against Henrique Rodrigues of Brazil.
Team Jordan also have two more medal hopes in the women’s events, with Julyana Al Sadeq starting her -67kg efforts against Lolohea Naitasi of Fiji on Friday, and Rama Abu Al Rab going in the +68kg class against Morocco's Fatima-Ezzahra Aboufaras on Saturday.
Kareem had earlier roared with delight after defeating Team GB's Bradly Sinden to reach the gold medal match. The British fighter had edged a cagey opening round 2-1 thanks to a solitary body kick.
Kareem had been the aggressor but hadn't got his reward. That was to come. With one round in the bank, Sinden looked to play it safe but the strategy backfired as Kareem landed a head kick which, along with a penalty, was enough to clinch a 4-2 win and force the decider.
At first both erred on the side of caution knowing that one mistake could prove fatal to their chances. Eventually, a fight broke out and the pivotal moment came as both simultaneously landed body kicks. That made the score 3-3, but Sinden was adjudged to have held as he scored and 3-3 became 4-1 to Kareem. The Jordanian quickly followed up with a head kick to seal his shot at gold.
Prior to that bout, Kareem had demonstrated his medal pedigree by comfortably dispatching the dangerous Turkish athlete Hakan Recber and Edival Pontes of Brazil.
A bronze medallist at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, Kareem added a silver medal to his collection at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last October. He now has an Olympic silver to enhance to his burgeoning collection.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Laetitia Aoun narrowly missed out on a medal after defeat to Canada's Skylar Park in the women's -57kg division bronze medal match.
Aoun, 23, was bidding to become Lebanon's first ever taekwondo Olympic medallist but was frustrated by Park.
The first round ended scoreless but Park got the nod for registering more non-scoring hits. Her coach could be heard screaming "get busy" throughout the round and it paid off.
Another close round ensued with Park scoring a crucial head kick, upheld on review, to lead 3-0. Penalties went both ways as the Canadian closed out a 4-2 win and with it the bronze medal.
Aoun, the number 11 seed, enjoyed a strong competition. She earlier lost to the impressive Nahid Kiani in the semi-final but had reached the last four thanks to victories over North Macedonia’s Miljana Reljikj and Lo Chia-ling of Chinese Taipei.
Tunisia’s Chaima Toumi missed out on a shot at bronze in the same weight class after defeat to Bulgaria's Kimia Alizadeh in repechage.
Alizadeh, who has Iranian heritage, won the first round 3-2. The second finished 2-2 with the judges giving the Bulgarian athlete the verdict for her extra aggression.
