TOKYO, Japan – Sturgis Native Paige McPherson dropped her bronze medal match at the Olympic games in Tokyo.
McPherson was matched up against Hedaya Malak Wahba of Egypt. Paige led 5-4 in a tightly contested match until late in the third round when the Egyptian landed a big kick to the head to take a lead she would not relinquish. Malak Wahba ended up winning 17-6 to take the bronze.
Here’s how Paige made her way to the bronze medal match:
Paige McPherson won her opening bout in the Women’s 67kg Taekwondo.
McPherson defeated Farida Azizova of Azerbaijan.
Azizova took a quick 2-0 lead on McPherson, but Paige roared back, and landed a nice kick in the second round to take a lead she would not relinquish.
McPherson scored 5 in the second and an additional 3 in the third round.
Azizova landed 3 points in the third round, but it was not enough as McPherson won 8-5.
In the next round, Paige McPherson and Nur Tatar of Turkey went into an overtime fourth round tied at 1-1, before McPherson took advantage and won the bout on Golden Points.
Paige picked up two points in the extra round to win 3-1.
The match was very competitive, as both athletes were deadlocked at 0-0 until late in the third round.
Then, in the semifinals, Paige lost to Matea Jelic of Croatia 15-4.
