 Iran, South Korea triumph
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-23 10:33
Iran's Hadi Saei won the men's 80kg class taekwondo gold yesterday, defeating Italy's Mauro Sarmiento. Saei, who won in a lower weight class in Athens, went ahead in the first round, but Sarmiento hit him squarely with a head kick to lead 4-2. Saei landed a kick in the second round to move within a point, then another to Sarmiento's side to tie the score 4-4 going into the final round. The Iranian came out quickly in the third, scoring another point for the lead. He added on a sixth point to seal the victory. Steven Lopez of the United States scored on Azerbaijan's Rashad Ahmadov in the final seconds to win bronze. The second bronze went to China's Zhu Guo, who defeated Britain's Aaron Cook 4-1. Taekwondo awards two bronzes in each weight class. In another gold-medal match, South Korea's double world champion Hwang Kyung-seon beat Canada's Karine Sergerie 2-1 in the women's 67kg division. Sergerie, the world champion in the 63kg class, led 1-0 after the first period but the South Korean hit back to tie the score 1-1 in the second. Hwang's back kick caught the Canadian's abdomen in the third round to bring South Korea its third taekwondo gold medal in as many days. The bronze medals went to world silver medalist Gwladys Patience Epangue of France and Croatia's Sandra Saric. Agencies  (China Daily 08/23/2008 page11) |
