S Korea's Hwang claims title in women's 67kg class taetwondo

South Korea's Hwang Kyung-seon won the women's 67kg class taekwondo event at the Beijing Olympics on Friday, beating Karine Sergerie of Canada 2-1.

"Because of my injury it was so hard to focus on the game. It was really difficult to win the gold," Hwang said.

It's the third gold South Korean taekwondo players have clinched in Beijing.

Hwang, bronze medalist in Athens, said the previous two golds made her feel a lot of pressure.

"I was disappointed by the bronze I won in Athens, so this time I swore that I would win the gold," she told a post-match press conference.

Sergerie took the lead in round 1 while Hwang, adopting defensive tactics, scored her first point in round 2. The two became more aggressive in the third round and both made a lot of attacks, but only Hwang managed to score when there were 20 seconds left and locked the gold.

The 22-year-old, also two-time world champion, hurt her left knee in the semifinals. She said she couldn't concentrate on the semifinals.

However, "all the coaches and trainers told me to use my faith to win. It was hard, but finally I did it," she said, adding that she's not satisfied with her performance.

"If I didn't have injuries, I would play better," she said.

Sergerie was not happy with the silver as she had targeted the gold before the Games. She said she lacked a bit of energy at the end of the match.

"I just had to squeeze her a little bit more, but I just couldn't do it," she said, vowing to win at next Olympics.

The bronze was shared by Gwladys Patience Epangue of France, and Sandra Saric of Croatia.



Courtesy : www.news.xinhuanet.com