The Korea Herald

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Korea adds 2 more medals at taekwondo world championships

By Alex Park

Published : June 30, 2017 - 09:48

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MUJU -- Host South Korea added two more medals at the ongoing taekwondo world championships on Thursday, the penultimate day of the competition.

Oh Hye-ri won silver in the women's under-73kg at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, some 240 kilometers south of Seoul. Moments earlier, In Kyo-don got a bronze in the men's under-87kg.

South Korea leads all countries with eight medals -- four gold, one silver and three bronze.

Oh Hye-ri of South Korea (R) battles Milica Mandic of Serbia in the final of the women's under-73kg at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, North Jeolla Province, on June 29, 2017. (Yonhap) Oh Hye-ri of South Korea (R) battles Milica Mandic of Serbia in the final of the women's under-73kg at the World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo Championships at Taekwondowon's T1 Arena in Muju, North Jeolla Province, on June 29, 2017. (Yonhap)
The competition ends Friday. The morning sessions will feature preliminaries for the men's under-80kg and the women's under-62kg. In the afternoon, the finals for the men's under-63kg and the men's under-80kg, and the women's under-57kg and under-62kg, will take place.

Earlier Thursday, Lee Ah-reum qualified for the semifinals in the women's under-57kg, securing at least a bronze medal.

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

In the women's under-73kg final, Oh, ranked 12th, lost to world No. 2 from Serbia, Milica Mandic 17-13.

Oh was down 4-3 after the first of three two-minute rounds. She battled back to take a 9-7 lead into the final round. But the Serbian was dominant in the last two minutes, as she scored six points on a pair of three-point kicks to Oh's head.

Oh failed to defend her world title from two years ago. This was Mandic's first world championship.

In lost in the semifinals to Vladislav Larin of Russia 8-6, after blwoing a 5-2 lead through two rounds.

Larin held a 6-5 lead until In tied the score with a one-point punch with 22 seconds remaining.

The match was decided in the sudden-death extra round. The first contestant to score an attacking point, or the athlete whose opponent receives two "gam-jeoms," or deduction penalties, is the winner. In received two penalties, the second of which came when he fell to the mat with just two seconds remaining. (Yonhap)