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South Korea grab third taekwondo gold in fitting Olympic finale
SYDNEY, Sept 30 (AFP) - Kim Kyong-Hun outclassed local hero Daniel Trenton Saturday to grab South Korea's third taekwondo gold, in a fitting heavyweight finale to the Olympic debut of their native fighting sport. South Korea fielded two male and two female fighters under a tight quota system and finished with three golds and one silver medal. Greece, the United States, Cuba, Australia and China each won one gold medal. Kim, the 1997 world champion, led Trenton 2-1 after the first round and extended the lead to 5-2 in the second, displaying a variety of kicks, including the highly technical axe-kick -- a high-arching sweep to bring the heel down on the opponent's head. With a 15 centimetre (6 inch) height advantage, the 195cm Kim added two unanswered points in the final round, but had a point deducted after two warnings to make the final score 6-2. For the 23-year-old Trenton, his Olympic silver adds to his collection of of a world silver medal in 1999 and a bronze at the 1997 World Cup. Frenchman Pascal Gentil, the 1997 World Cup runner-up, took the bronze here by technical knockout over Pan Arab champion Khalid Al-Dosari of Saudi Arabia with one minute to go in the final round. Gentil had earlier protested about the refereeing in his semi-final which he lost 6-2 to Kim. His coach Philippe Boudeo filed an official complaint that judges favoured the Korean in scoring. The jury panel rejected the protest after checking a video of the match. "The scores are assigned exactly as shown on the score board," an official statement said. It was the first official appeal against refereeing in taekwondo since the Korean-born sport of kicking and punching made its Olympic debut. But there were daily complaints throughout the four day competition.
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