Youth Olympic Taekwondo" Lai Yizhen won the bronze in the women's 44kg category, becoming the sixth medalist in team history

[Reporter Wu Mengru/Comprehensive Report] At the 2026 Fourth Dhaka Youth Olympic Games, Lai Yizhen passed the women's 44kg taekwondo category. Unfortunately, she lost to Russia's Elina Tkhamokova (Elina Tkhamokova) in the semi-finals with a score of 0:2 and won a bronze medal.

Lai Yizhen is the sixth medal winner in the taekwondo event of the Youth Olympic Games in team history after Huang Huaixuan, Huang Yuren (gold medal), Wang Chenyu (silver medal), Chen Ziting (bronze medal) at the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, and Li Mengen (silver medal) at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games.

Lai Yizhen faced Chinese player Zhao Yueyannan in the quarter-finals. In the first round, she had a higher hit rate with her mid-range kicks and won 10:2. In the second round, she was once kicked in the upper mid-range and fell behind. However, she continued to chase points and won 17:5. She entered the quarter-finals. Lai Yizhen continued to lose points with continuous kicks from close combat by her opponent and was unable to adapt. In the end, she lost at 7:13 and 8:14, and ended up tied for the bronze medal.

Coach Zhang Qiongfang said that when facing China in the first game, he had collected some information and conducted sand table deductions. Lai Yizhen's execution and performance were quite ideal. "Her handling of the front foot in this game (against Russia) was not as good as in the previous game. She was eager to go in and kick, and did not control the opponent." "Take care of the front feet first." Zhang Qiongfang said that after losing the score, Lai Yizhen started to get nervous. When she was nervous, she became chaotic. There was a chance in the second round. "We just wanted to get close. Her attack was actually fast, but it was a pity that she didn't highlight her ability."

Lai Yizhen said that she actually didn't feel any pressure participating in the Youth Olympics. "I thought I would win, but I didn't have the strength, and I kept getting picked on later." She felt that she didn't perform well in the top four. Lai Yizhen believed that her performance was not ideal because she kept rushing in and was kicked by her opponents. "I feel that I can enter the Champions League, which is a bit regretful!"