Egyptian youngster Hedaya Malak has snatched the 57-kg gold medal in the final of 2015 World Taekwondo Grand Prix defeating Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez Sunday.
"I am so happy with this accomplishment. It's the first time ever an Egyptian qualifies through Olympic rank not through the African championship," Egyptian Taekwondo Federation (ETF) chairman Farag El-Amry told Ahram Sport.
For the bronze, Great Britain’s Jade Jones - 2012 London Olympics gold medalist - has beaten Sweden’s Nikita Glasinovic.
"In the category, Great Britain’s Jade Jones, Spain’s Eva Calvo Gomez, Egypt’s Hedaya Malak, Japan’s Mayu Hamada, Chinese Taipei’s Yun-wen Huang and Croatia’s Ana Zaninovic earned [2016 Rio de Janeiro] Olympic slots," the World Taekwondo Federation stated on their website.
Malak who gained the third place in the world rankings, defeated Olympic champion Jones in the semis after she won against Olympics silver holder and 5th-seeded Huang.
ETF member and national teams manager Mohamed Shaaban has praised Malak for "her unprecedented achievement gaining 180 points in only six months."
