Published : Aug. 20, 2018 - 20:37
JAKARTA (Yonhap) -- South Korean taekwondo fighter Kim Tae-hun won a gold medal in the men's 58-kilogram division at the 18th Asian Games on Monday.
Kim defeated Niyaz Pulatov of Uzbekistan 24-6 in the final to claim his second career Asian Games gold. He topped the men's 54kg at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Kim Tae-hun and coaching staff celebrate his gold medal at the Asian Games on Monday. Yonhap
It was also South Korea's first gold medal from taekwondo "kyorugi" (sparring) competition at Jakarta-Palembang 2018.
Against Pulatov, Kim finished the first round 2-1. He earned six points in the beginning of the second round, however, after successfully landing a turning kick on Pulatov's body. He then earned a point from a penalty and two points on a body kick to finish the second round 11-2.
Kim then easily secured gold by earning 13 points in the third round, while Pulatov only got four.
At Jakarta Convention Center Plenary Hall, Kim, who was also a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, trounced Chen Xiaoyi of China 40-2 in the round of 16.
Kim had a tough bout in the quarterfinal, but edged Yeldos Yskak of Kazakhstan 11-9. The 24-year old, however, had relatively easy semifinal as he beat Sergio Suzuki of Japan 24-11.