Anju Jason
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| Birth name | Anju Jason | ||||||||||||||
| Born | November 21, 1987 Marshall Islands | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80 kg (180 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Country | Marshall Islands | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Taekwondo | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Anju Jason (born November 21, 1987) is a Marshallese taekwondo practitioner. Born in the Marshall Islands, he would move to Hawaii at the age of six with his sister as their father thought the island would provide better opportunities for them. Three years later, Anju would see a flier advertising a taekwondo academy and would eventually join the academy. While at the academy, he would win multiple local and state-wide tournaments.
After a tournament in November 2007, Jason's instructor would call him and tell him that the Marshall Islands were planning to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics for the nation's first appearance at an Olympic Games. Jason would then compete in a qualifying tournament in New Caledonia and would win his match, qualifying as the first eligible Marshallese competitor for the team. Before the Summer Games, he was a cook for Panda Express.
At the Summer Games, he would compete in the men's welterweight event but would be defeated by Aaron Cook in the first round. Jason would eventually be designated as the flag bearer for the nation during the closing ceremony of the Summer Games.
Biography
Anju Jason was born on November 21, 1987 in the Marshall Islands.[1] At the age of six, he would move to Oahu and lived with his sister as their father thought the island would provide better opportunities in education and a better quality of life for his children. When Anju was nine years old, he would see a flier advertising a taekwondo academy and would eventually join the academy. He would then go on and win multiple local and state-wide taekwondo tournaments but would not have the chance to represent the United States internationally as he was not a citizen of the nation.[2]
In November 2007 after competing in a tournament in Oklahoma, Jason would receive a call from his instructor and would tell him they stated that the Marshall Islands were setting up a team for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, for the nation's first appearance at an Olympic Games. He competed in the Oceania Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament held in New Caledonia and would defeat a competitor from Samoa, qualifying for the Summer Games as the first eligible Marshallese competitor. He would be the only one in the team to have qualified without being a wild card entry. Before the Summer Games, he was a cook for Panda Express and would be paid throughout the duration of his stay at the Summer Games.[2]
At the Summer Games, he would compete in the preliminary rounds of the men's welterweight event on 22 August at 11:15 am. He would compete against Aaron Cook of Great Britain and would lose the event with a score of seven to one.[3] Jason would eventually be designated as the flag bearer for the nation during the closing ceremony of the Summer Games.[1] He had stated that he planned to visit the nation after the Summer Games for the first time since 2005.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Anju Jason Biographical Information". Olympedia. Archived from the original on May 31, 2025. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c Longman, Jeré (August 5, 2008). "For the Marshall Islands, a Debut on a World Stage". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
- ^ "Welterweight (≤80 kilograms), Men – Match #2". Olympedia. Archived from the original on May 31, 2025. Retrieved July 5, 2025.