VIDEO | Karate Fighter Wins Gold Despite Getting Knocked Out
Sajad Ganjzadeh won karate gold at the Tokyo Olympics despite being knocked out by Tareg Hamedi in the men’s 75-kilogram weight class on Saturday.
Hamedi was ahead by three points when he let a fight-ending head kick fly. The Saudi Arabian knocked Ganjzadeb out cold before wheeling away in celebration after he seemingly secured himself an Olympic gold medal.
Unfortunately, Hamdei was disqualified for using “excessive” force. In the Olympic version of karate, fighters are not allowed to follow through with their strikes.
Ganjzadeh didn’t realize he’d actually won gold until he woke up in the medical room backstage. The Iranian admitted it was somewhat bittersweet to have won the gold medal on a technicality.
“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, and what I remember was that in the medical room I woke up and I heard from the coach that I won the match,” Ganjzadeh said. “I’m very happy that I achieved this gold medal but I’m sad that it had to happen like this.”
Do you think Tareg Hamedi was robbed of his Olympic gold medal after he knocked out Sajad Ganjzadeh?
