Taekwondo: Spain’s Gonzalez wins 58kg gold
World champion Lee had come down from the non-Olympic under-63kg category to compete in London but went down 17-8
LONDON:
Double world champion Joel Gonzalez of Spain added Olympic gold to his collection as he beat South Korea’s Lee Dae-Hoon in the men’s under-58kg taekwondo final. World champion Lee had come down from the non-Olympic under-63kg category to compete in London but went down 17-8. Gonzalez struck first in the opening round of the final, connecting with a three-point head kick to open up a 5-2 lead. That kick was not originally scored but he challenged the referee’s decision and was awarded the score after a video review. Lee had closed the gap with two unanswered points until a flurry of late kicks in the second round saw Gonzalez extend his lead to 8-4. In the final round a brutal axe-kick that connected with Lee’s mouth, sending him crashing to the canvas and drawing blood, provided the final nail in the Korean’s coffin.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2012.
Double world champion Joel Gonzalez of Spain added Olympic gold to his collection as he beat South Korea’s Lee Dae-Hoon in the men’s under-58kg taekwondo final. World champion Lee had come down from the non-Olympic under-63kg category to compete in London but went down 17-8. Gonzalez struck first in the opening round of the final, connecting with a three-point head kick to open up a 5-2 lead. That kick was not originally scored but he challenged the referee’s decision and was awarded the score after a video review. Lee had closed the gap with two unanswered points until a flurry of late kicks in the second round saw Gonzalez extend his lead to 8-4. In the final round a brutal axe-kick that connected with Lee’s mouth, sending him crashing to the canvas and drawing blood, provided the final nail in the Korean’s coffin.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 10th, 2012.