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On the final day of competition at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China, Aziza Chambers (Springfield, Ohio/University of Dayton) captured the United States first and only medal in the taekwondo competition.
Chambers, competing in the women's bantamweight (-53kg) division, opened Tuesday's action with a 7-1 victory over Germany's Melanie Hartung. She followed that up with an equally convincing 9-1 win over Algeria's Wissam Khaldi to advance to the quarterfinal round. There she edged Chinese Taipei'sIwen Kuan, 6-5, to reach the medal round. In the semifinal match, Chambers lost 10-5 to Turkey's Hatice Kubra Yangin who would go on to win the gold medal with a 9-0 victory over Spain's Laura Urriola Ateca. Canada's Ivett Gonda claimed the other bronze medal.
In other action on Tuesday, Stepfon Westbrook (Pacoima, Calif./California State University-Northridge) scored a 5-3 win over South Africa's Alpheus Shiba Mkhonaziin his first match in the men's bantamweight division (-63kg) before losing to Russia'sAlexander Nikiforov, 6-3. Turkey's Umut Bildik won the gold medal with France'sStevens Barclais taking the silver and the bronze medals going to Chinese Taipei'sYuanchih Chu and Mexico's Alfonso Espinosa.
In the men's middleweight (-87kg) division, Jared Reed (Elverta, Calif./American River College) lost 10-2 to eventual bronze medalist Rouhollah Talebi Kahangi of Iran in his opening match. The gold medal went to Korea's Yong Hyun Park who defeated Brazil's Guilherme Felix in the final. The other bronze medal was won by Turkey'sBruak Eski.
In female middleweight action (-73kg), Blanca Quezada (Mesa, Ariz./Arizona State University) dropped an 8-1 decision to France's Anne Caroline Graff in the opening round. Graff would advance to win a bronze medal along with Spain's Elena Gomez Martinez. The gold medal went to Chinese Taipei's Chiachia Chuang who beat Korea's Mi Yeon Park in the final.
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Tags: 2011 World University Games Team, Aziza Chambers, Blanca Quezada,Jared Reed, Stepfon Westbrook