25-year-old Terrence Jennings, who had never advanced beyond round 16 in an international competition, won his bronze-medal bout against Brazil’s Diogo Silva by a score of eight to five.
The first of three two-minute rounds was scoreless until the final second when Jennings launched a successful spinning hook kick to his opponent’s head, scoring four points.
Silva scored two points in the second, one via a roundhouse to Jennings’ midsection, and one because Jennings accumulated two penalties; Jennings scored a point on penalties as well. Players can be penalized for backing up or stepping out of bounds.
Silva entered the final round three points down, so he worked a lot harder, opening with several high kicks that missed. Jennings was penalized for punching Silva in the face, then Silva scored two more roundhouse kicks to the left side of Jennings’ body, tying the match with seconds left.
At the buzzer, Jennings snapped his left foot up to the side of Silva’s headgear, scoring three points after the strike survived video review.
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