Lopez siblings through to taekwondo quarter-finals

By Ian Ransom

BEIJING (Reuters) - American siblings Mark and Diana Lopez have broken through to the quarter-finals of the Olympic tournament in Beijing, raising hopes of a treble of medals for the U.S.'s first family of taekwondo.

Mark, Diana and older brother Steven, who competes in the men's 80-kg on Friday, are the first three American siblings to qualify for the same sport at an Olympics since the Tritschler brothers did in gymnastics at the 1904 St Louis Games.

With double Olympic champion Steven favorite to win the men's 80-kg on Thursday, the Lopezes, coached by older brother Jean, are on track to become the first set of three American siblings to win Olympic medals.

Twenty-four-year-old Diana Lopez cruised to a 2-0 victory over Thailand's Chonnapas Premwaew on Thursday, avenging a loss at an Olympic qualifier in Manchester last year.

In another family-related twist, Lopez's quarter final opponent on Thursday will be Azize Tanrikulu, the younger sister of Bahri Tanrikulu, who was beaten by Steven Lopez for the men's 80-kg title in Athens.

"I feel strong and confident right now," Lopez said.

LITTLE TROUBLE

In the men's 68-kg class, older brother Mark had little trouble accounting for an aggressive Nesar Bahave of Afghanistan, who enjoyed warm support from Chinese fans.

Lopez patiently weathered fierce attacks from Bahave, picking his moments to land three scoring kicks to win 3-0.

"I just played my game and got into my rhythm. I'll just take one fight at a time," Lopez said.

Lopez will face European bronze medalist Daniel Manz of Germany in the quarter-final.

Turkish teenager Servet Tazeguel upset men's 67-kg world champion Gessler Viera of Cuba to book a quarter-final bout against South Korea's Son Taejin.

Taiwanese men's 72-kg world champion Sung Yu-Chi also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 4-0 drubbing of New Zealand's Logan Campbell, and will meet Dmitriy Kim of Uzbekistan.

(Editing by Jon Bramley)

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