It is under the majestic nave of the Grand Palais that they will launch their kicks into the sky. The Para taekwondo players will take to the track at the Paris Games from Thursday 29 August. Three French athletes will be on the mats: Djelika Diallo (under 65 kg), Bopha Kong (under 58 kg) and Sophie Caverzan (under 57 kg). If this Korean martial art entered the Olympic programme in 2000 in Sydney (Australia), its Paralympic counterpart has only appeared on the event calendar for three years and at the Tokyo edition of the Paralympic Games, in the summer of 2021.
The main difference between taekwondo and its para-sport derivative is the authorized techniques. “We hit with our feet and only on the armor [armure de protection du tronc]not to the head »explain Djélika Diallo, 19 years old. Punches can only be delivered when approaching to block, but they do not count. And the notion of knockout is eliminated.
“Not having the right to face each other changes a lot of things. We have to adapt because the panel is shrinking.explains Haby Niaré, Olympic runner-up in the under 67 kg category in 2016, who now coaches the young woman. You have to be inventive when it comes to body techniques and try to find the right strategy. »
M’Bar N’Diaye, 41, a former Olympian who is in charge of the other two French qualifiers, agrees: “For taekwondo it doesn’t have the same rules at all. There are fewer surprises as the blows only fall on the body. » Another specificity is that there is only one five-minute round, instead of two two-minute rounds for non-disabled people.
From four classifications to one
In order to qualify for the Paralympic Games, para taekwondo had to revise its categorisation. Currently there is only one category, K44, which brings together athletes who suffer from a deficiency in one or both upper limbs.
Bopha Kong, 43, has been part of the French national team since 2010 and has been affected by this change: after having both arms amputated below the elbow, he now finds himself up against a player with one good arm. “There used to be four classifications [en compétition]. One year before the 2021 Games, the authorities decided that there would only be one. I had a higher handicap and fought against new opponents, who have only one arm and easier to block. I wasn’t used to it”Trace the one that ended 4my in Tokyo.
“For Bopha, it is a bit more complicated since he moved to a single category. He was the king of his category.acknowledges M’Bar N’Diaye. He is less dominant. He needs to play more with speed. We are working on new avoidance strategies. » The truth is that in Paris, the most experienced of the Bleus can climb onto the podium. Like their compatriots elsewhere. Haby Niaré is convinced of this: her protégé Djelika Diallo “He has everything it takes to be a future Paralympic champion”A few weeks after the first Olympic title in French taekwondo, won by Althéa Laurin, the sporting results were excellent.
