RIO DE JANEIRO -- The first time Steven Lopez made the U.S. Olympic taekwondo team, he was just 15 years old. More than two decades later, the Texas-based fighter recently qualified again and will likely be the oldest athlete competing in taekwondo at the Rio de Janeiro games.At 37, Lopez is the most acclaimed fighter in the sport and dominated the Korean martial art for more than a decade, winning a record five world championship titles.Lopez won Olympic gold medals in 2000 and 2004 and took home a bronze in 2008. But at the London 2012 games, he was knocked out in the first round after breaking a leg shortly before the Olympics.Ahead of Rio, Lopez said his misfortune in London adds a bit of extra motivation.I can accept defeat if the guy is just better than me that day, he told the Associated Press. But to not be able to go out there and perform at my best (in 2012) was something that was very hard for me to stomach and one of the reasons why I went on to try to make the Olympic team in 2016.Still, a lot has changed since Lopez started taekwondo, a martial art characterized by its aerial kicks and spinning techniques. When Lopez began competing, kicks were scored by four corner judges and had to be forceful enough to elicit trembling shock from the opponent.After controversy plagued the Beijing 2008 games, taekwondos ruling body switched to an electronic system where players score when the sensors in their foot protectors strike their opponents body armor with the right amount of impact; head kicks require only that the foot touch the opponents head guard or face to register three or four points.In recent years, many fighters have adapted to the temperamental system by modifying taekwondo kicks to maximize their chances, using unorthodox techniques that are unrecognizable to traditional taekwondo practitioners -- including Lopez.It seems strange that with the rules now, if you land a kick, however it looks, it can score points even though it is not at all taekwondo, Lopez said, adding that he is reluctant to use some of the altered kicks being tried by many other fighters.World Taekwondo Federation president Chungwon Choue said officials are trying to strike a balance between preserving the martial arts origins and the continued evolution of the sport. He noted Lopez would soon become the first athlete to make five straight Olympic appearances and that while most competitors were in their 20s, it would be unwise to discount Lopez.Anything can happen in taekwondo, Choue said.With just weeks to go before Lopez arrives in Rio, he says he is as excited as he was for his very first games.There will be a time that no matter how much I want it, I wont be capable of doing it, Lopez said. So for right now, I am just trying to enjoy every single part of this.---Rachel Cohen in New York contributed to this report. Hydro Flask Water Bottle Australia . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. 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Mumbai 431 for 5 (Yadav 103, Pawar 100, Lad 86*) lead New Zealanders 324 for 7 dec (Latham 55, Williamson 50) by 107 runs ScorecardAmit Pagnis did it to Shane Warne in 1998; Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma traumatised Jason Krejza in 2008; Nathan Hauritz received a rude welcome from Ajinkya Rahane in 2010. On Saturday Suryakumar Yadav, Kaustubh Pawar, Siddhesh Lad, Armaan Jaffer and Aditya Tare continued the tradition of Indian domestic batsmen softening up the opposition spinners in their tour game. Rohit, himself a part of the Test squad now, failed to press claim for a slot in the XI, falling for 18 in an ungainly manner, but his Mumbai team-mates did a job for the India Test side by making New Zealanders three frontline spinners toil for 51 overs for 263 runs and just three wickets. A whopping 402 runs came in the day. Mumbais coach Chandrakant Pandit didnt brag too much, but cheekily said he hoped the India team would be happy that a state side had tested the visiting spinners.Doug Bracewell, though, said the New Zealanders werent too concerned about their performance, although there were lessons to be learnt. A lot of it was down to the flatness of the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch. New Zealanders spinners, though, seemed to be playing for the conditions expected in the Tests rather than trying to beat batsmen in the air on an unresponsive track. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and offspinner Mark Craig, in particular, kept bowling quick and flat, which works on the kind of raging turners that South Africa were given in Indias last home season. Legspinner Ish Sodhi was the only one who created regular problems.Be that as it may, the Mumbai batsmen matched the intent shown by the New Zealanders on day one, shot for shot. Jaffer, yet to make his first-class debut, had come in to bat on the first evening, at the fall of the opener Jay Bista for a duck, and hit Santner for a straight six in the first over he played. Now he hit Santner back over his head twice in his first over on the second morning.The only time it seemed Mumbai were under pressure was when Sodhi, the last spinner used, began to turn a few. One legbreak got rid of Jaffer for 69, after which Rohit played an edgy innings. It just seemed anything could happen every time Rohit faced up. One of those things was a clean six over mid-off after eight straight dots, but he never looked in. On 18 he looked to charge Sodhi, who dragged his length back, drawing an uncertain defensive shot. In the same over Rohit reppeated the charge without bothering about defending when beaten in the flight.dddddddddddd An easy stumping for BJ Watling ensued.It could have become 133 for 4 when Yadav skied a pull towards the stumps at the non-strikers end, but Sodhi, the bowler, dropped a dolly after going back a few steps, to herald an afternoon of pain. Having ridden his luck in the initial stages, Yadav got stuck into the spinners, hitting eight sixes in his 103 off 86 balls. He began with a swept four, and peppered the straight and midwicket region with his sixes. He brought up his hundred with a swept six off a full-toss.Pawar, known for his stodgy efforts, opened up in Yadavs company, repeatedly driving the spinners over cover and back over their heads. The late-cut was beneficial too, as the spinners dragged their length back. He retired with an even hundred to his name, off 228 balls. Towards the end of the day, Lad and Tare filled their boots too, putting on an unbroken 137 in 22 overs. Lad ended the day batting on 86, having hit seven sixes.Two worries for the New Zealanders will be the absence of reverse-swing, and the sameness of their spinners offerings, not as a group but individually. Perhaps preoccupied with getting their pace right for the expected rank turners, they kept bowling similar trajectories and similar angles through the day. Their release points and pace didnt vary much. When Santner did slow up the odd delivery, he caused some indecision, once even drawing a chance, but dropped a return catch from Pawar, who was 45 at that point.Release points changed for the quicks with both Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell trying the round-the-wicket angle, but they couldnt get much reverse swing. When Neil Wagner went to his trusted bouncers, the lack of pace off the pitch and friendly bounce rendered him ineffective.The surface didnt really break up and turn that much, Bracewell said. We are not really concerned at this stage. It is early on in the tour. They played really well. I definitely know our guys will take some learnings out of today.We know it is going to be a different surface for the first Test. Wasnt really any surprises [to be given a different surface for the warm-up game]. Whether it is a part of India trying to get us to not expect something that might be our way... we definitely expected something like this. You just get on with it. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '