Iranian taekwondo player wins gold medal
Published: Friday, August 22, 2008
20:00GMT—4:00PM/EST
OLYMPICS – IRAN – GOLD MEDAL
Washington, 22 August (IranVNC)—Iran’s Hadi Saei earned Iran’s first gold medal in the 2008 Olympic games by defeating Italy’s Mauro Sarmiento in the men’s 80-kg class Taekwondo competition. The win is Saei’s second Olympic gold medal, as he won the 68-kg class in Taekwondo at Athens in 2004.
This is Iran’s second medal for the games. Seyed Morad Mohammadi won a bronze medal in the men’s freestyle 60-kg wrestling on 19 August.
“I’m very happy for the Iranian people and my medal belongs to the soul of my father and two brothers,” Saei was quoted by China’s Xinhua News Agency as saying.
A bronze medal was awarded to China’s Zhu Guo, who beat Britain’s Aaron Cook 4-1. The victory was China’s first medal for a male in taekwondo in Olympic history.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Steven Lopez lost his semi-final match against Sarmiento 1-2. Lopez beat Rashad Ahmadov of Azerbaijan 3-2 in the bronze medal repechage match, which is a match for runners-up from earlier heats.
Yesterday, Lopez’s brother Mark won a silver medal in the men’s 68-kg class, while his sister Diana earned a bronze in the women’s 57-kg class.
In the overall medal standings, the U.S. leads with 102 medals, while China is in second with 89 and Russia in third with 57.
Sources: Xinhua News Agency, NBC TV Olympics website
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