Mauro Sarmiento (blue) of Italy fights with Hadi Saei of Iran during the men's 80kg gold medal match at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games taekwondo event in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Hadi Saei won the match and gained the gold medal. (Xinhua)Iranian taekwondo player Hadi Saei clinched his second Olympic taekwondo gold on Friday, beating Mauro Sarmiento of Italy 6-4 in the men's 80kg category.
Sarmiento dominated the first round with a 4-2 by a series of attacks, inluding an axe kick to Saei's head. However, 32-year-old Saei, who won the 68kg class at Athens Games, remained clear-minded. He just moved and waited.
When the opponent made mistakes during continuous attacks, Saei successfully threw two roundhouse kicks to Sarmiento's left side and drew the match into a 4-4 tie. He attcked first in round 3, scored his fifth and sixth point.
Sarmiento raised Saei's hand to congratulate the veteran.
China's Zhu Guo won the bronze after an intense repechage match with British player Aaron Cook, beating Cook 4-1 to become the first Chinese male taekwondo player to win a medal at Olympics.
Zhu said his South Korean coach helped him a lot.
America's legendary Steven Lopez, two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, failed to extend his glory as he lost the quarterfinals to Sarmiento 1-2. He finally got bronze through the repechage.
Source: Xinhua
