Yahoo Sports Brutal KO kick leads to Olympics disqualification of would-be winner in karate gold medal match
The Olympics play by different rules than UFC.
What would have qualified for a KO victory in professional mixed martial arts instead resulted in the disqualification of the would-be winner in a karate gold medal match to close out the sport's Olympics debut on Saturday.
Iran’s Sajad Ganjzadeh faced off with Saudi Arabia's Tareg Hamedi in the men's 75-kilogram kumite final. Karate athletes competed in individual demonstrations called kata and one-on-one combat called kumite.
Leading the match 4-1, Hamedi landed a violent kick to Ganjzadeh's head, leaving the Iranian unconscious on the mat. The fight was officially over after a 10-count. Hamedi celebrated, thinking he'd won gold.
هذا المشهد بعيوننا يسوى ١٠ ذهبيات🥇
كفو يا #طارق_حامدي 🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦😍😍😍😍 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/oWgSYlxtST— Mohammed 🦇 (@boyousef_14) August 7, 2021
He had not.
Ganjzadeh wins via hansoku
Judges conferred and disqualified Hamedi based on a serious violation of the rules called a hansoku, per the Associated Press. According to AP, competitors aren't permitted to fully follow through on their blows in Olympic competition, unlike professional fighting, which rewards violent knockouts.
Ganjzadeh, still suffering the immediate effects of the knockout blow, was named the gold medal winner. Hamedi won silver after the DQ loss. Per AP, Hamedi left the mat in tears.
“If you ask me if I agree or not, I disagree, of course, because I love the gold medal,” Hamedi said through a translator. “But I am satisfied with the level of performance I gave, and I accept their decision. I don’t have any objection. I think I played well. That’s all I can say.”'
'I'm sad it had to happen like this'
The two fighters appeared at a post-fight news conference together. Ganjzadeh told reporters he learned about his gold medal after re-gaining consciousness in a medical room.
"The last thing I remember was that I was behind by scores, and then that incident happened and I don't remember much after that," Ganjzadeh said. "And what I remember was that in the medical room I woke up and I heard from the coach that I won the match. I'm very happy that I achieved this gold medal but I'm sad that it had to happen like this."
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