Seems TKD was trying not to have any controversies, so they could keep Olympic status.

Not to be...

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/t...o&type=lgns

Having watched a couple of the TKD matches ........

we had a TV set up in our office at work.............

It would appear that you get medals for bouncing around and trying to kick someone in the head,
I wonder if Australia would do better if we took some of the intoxicated troublemakers from outside
the front of nightclubs at closing time and put them into TKD contests, because they would have
more chance of kicking their opponent in the head than some of these so-called TKD experts.

After seeing only 2 minutes of Judo and then to have had this rubbish televised, it is probably a good thing that TKD may be on the way out.

The article brings up a question (for me, anyway), what determines whether or not a sport gets cut from the Olympics? Popularity, controversy, or something else?

I think that as long as curling is allowed as an Olympic sport, everything else has got to stay on the table.

Or racewalking. I still can't figure that one out.

In all fairness, judo probably looks pretty boring to those who have lesser appreciation for it, too.

The IOC should consider reinstating pankration and removing some of the overlapping events, which may include judo.

In regards to removal criteria, I believe it all boils down to politics, popularity and $$$. However, after seeing Water Boys, I have a deeper appreciation for synchronized swimming, so I would like to keep that event even though I don't like to watch synchronized swimming.

The Cuban bronze medal finalist just kicked the referee* after he made a bad call DQ'ing him on a technicality! Jesus Christ I can't believe that just happened!

* On a hillaious side note, the heavyweight Cuban sucker kicked the much smaller ref in the face and failed to put him down, thats just far far too funny!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/feedarticle/7747028
Online news is starting to report the incident. Yet more controversy for Olympic TKD. After seeing all the debate and discussion on this forum over judo in the Olympics especially regarding the referees and rules, I bet the TKD boards are lighting up.

TKD along with a few other sports need to be replaced, eliminated or just not given any airtime. TKD looks to me like a game of screaming tag! I love wrestling, judo, boxing, but compared to MMA, they are lacking (IMO). I find folk style much more appealing than greco or freestyle. The Olylmpic style of boxing drives me crazy. Pankration/mma/whatever they want to call it would be a welcome addition.

You are obviously not Canadian, eh?
Ahhh, tradition.......

AFAIK Taekwondo is an Olympic sport in some sense because of the Korean envy of judo's position in the Olympics.

I don't know TKD rules but it looks like a stupid call by the ref. The player was getting medical attention and not delibrately making time. Althouth the kick was bad taste.

Couldn't find a video. Is this a photo of the incident?


Another nail in the coffin of Olympic TKD. Not only DQed from the Olympics, he should be banned for life from any TKD competition.

Update: Thanks for posting the video. I see the ref was watching the timer run out, before awarding the win to the competitor from Kazakhstan.

Unbelievable! I absolutely agree with your suggested lifetime ban. I hadn't heard about this until I read the post. Crazy...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OLY...DISPUTE?SITE=AP

"To me it was obvious he was unable to continue," Chilmanov said. "His toe on his left foot was broken."

Well, obviously not. He could still get up an inflict damage on the ref.

I don't know the whole story here, but to me it boils down to one point. did the ref say he was out of medical time and let him get up to continue fighting (but he didn't and disqualified him), or did the ref just disqualify him?

Heres a decent clip with commentary for the Brit's;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/t...ndo/7578743.stm

No hold on until target shooters are never again called 'olympic athletes' TKD has to stay, even though think tkd is a joke at least they get a sweat on

Hey, it seams like they are trying to do away with judo, taekwondo, baseball and softball. Maybe they'll bring chess and poetry reciting back!

Here's an article with a slideshow of pictures depicting what happened.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport...icle1600041.ece

Are the TKD rules generally that strict? Exactly when the timer hits 0, the referee signals for the disqualification/inability to continue. Seems like with that much at stake, it would be courteous to let the offender know that time is up, and ask if the participant is willing to continue--with or without a sustained injury.

Video clip here:

Matos rage overshadows Cha gold

Rules say:

3.
The referee shall allow the contestant to receive first aid within one minute.
4.
The contestant who does not demonstrate the will to continue the contest after one minute, even in the case of a slight injury, shall be declared loser by the referee.

Seems clear to me that he should have been allowed the chance to continue, obviously he was well enough to.