Mexican Perez wins Taekwondo gold
Wednesday, 20 Aug 2008 20:48
Perez won Mexico's first gold medal of the Beijing Games
Guillermo Perez has won Mexico's first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics in the men's Taekwondo 58kg category.
Perez defeated Yulis Gabriel Mercedes of the Dominican Republic thanks to a judge's decision after their bout finished 1-1 after three rounds.
One of the bronze medals went to Rohullah Nikpai of Afghanistan who came through the repechage to face world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain in the third-place match.
It is the first medal of the Games to be won by an athlete from the war-torn country.
The other bronze medal was also significant. It was won by Chu Mu-yen of Taiwan. Due to the political situation between China and the province Chu was competing under the banner of Chinese Taipei and his bronze medal meant their neutral white flag was hoisted in the arena.
Britain's Michael Harvey fought well but was beaten by both Perez and Nikpai. The 18-year-old will hope to use the experience gained from this competition to go further at the London Games in four year's time.
In the women's 49kg category China won another gold medal thanks to the success of Wu Jingyu. Wu beat Thailand's Buttree Puedpong in the final.
Bronze medals were won by Cuba's Daynellis Montejo and Dalia Contreras Rivero of Venezuela.