Korean An Sae-bom takes bronze at taekwondo worlds

By Alex Park

Published : June 29, 2017 - 09:21

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South Korean An Sae-bom took a bronze medal at the ongoing taekwondo world championships on Wednesday.

An lost to the top-ranked Bianca Walkden of Britain 9-3 in the semifinals of the women's over-73kg at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul.

There are no bronze medal contests here, and losers of the two semifinals matches each get a bronze medal.

An Sae-bom of South Korea (left) battles Bianca Walkden of Britain in the semifinals of the women's over-73kg at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, North Jeolla Province, on June 28, 2017. (Yonhap)

This was An's first world championships since winning silver six years ago. The 27-year-old has battled nagging injuries in the ensuing years. She bounced back last year by winning the 2016 Asian title in over-73kg, and added a world bronze here to her resume.

Against Walkden, An got her first three points on a kick to the head early in the first of three two-minute rounds. But the South Korean wouldn't score another point the rest of the match against Walkden, the 2015 world champion.

Nursing a 4-3 lead after two rounds, Walkden extended her lead with a pair of two-point kicks and earned another point thanks to An's "gam-jeom," or deduction penalty.

Walkden went on to the gold by beating Jackie Galloway of the United States 14-4 in the final.

The competition wraps up on Friday. (Yonhap)

Korean An Sae-bom takes bronze at taekwondo worlds

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