Malia Paseka
Personal information
Full nameMalia Maile Paseka
National teamTonga
Born (2000-08-30) August 30, 2000
Years active2012-present
Sport
SportTaekwondo
Weight class-62kg, -67kg

Malia Paseka (born 30 August 2000) is a Tongan Taekwondo athlete who made her Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[1] She was an opening ceremony flag bearer alongside Pita Taufatofua.[2][3]

Sports career

Paseka started fighting taekwondo at the age of 11, after being invited by her brother. In 2019, Paseka won bronze in the women’s -62 kg and gold in the team event at the Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa, the first step in her path towards Olympic qualification.[4][5]

2020 Summer Olympics

In February 2020, Paseka secured her spot in the Olympics after winning gold in the women’s 67 kg division at the Olympic Qualifier tournament on Australia’s Gold Coast. Her appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics marked the first time a female Taekwondo athlete represented Tonga at the Olympic Games. She also became the ninth female athlete to represent Tonga in any sport at the Olympic Games.[4][6] Paseka lost in her debut by a technical knockout, after Lauren Williams kicked her in the head and the referees stopped the contest.[7] Williams going to the final sent Paseka to the repechage, lost to Hedaya Wahba.

References

  1. ↑ "TaekwondoData". TaekwondoData. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  2. ↑ "Tokyo Olympics: Pita Taufatofua shirtless again at Opening Ceremony". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  3. ↑ "Malia Paseka: Tonga's new flagbearer for the Tokyo Olympics". RNZ: Radio New Zealand. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Malia Paseka's mission to inspire young Tongans". Tokyo 2020. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  5. ↑ MALIA PASEKA - Tonga's first female Olympian to compete in Taekwondo
  6. ↑ "Taekwondo PASEKA Malia Athlete Profile- Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Olympics.com. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  7. ↑ Malia TKO by kick to the head from European champion


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