Kim Tae Hun Adds Bronze Medal for SK in Taekwondo
South Korea bagged the bronze medal in men's taekwondo courtesy of Kim Tae Hun on Wednesday.
The two-time world champion Hun clinched the bronze after defeating Mexico's Carlos Navarro in the men's -58kg at Carioca Arena 3.
The Korea Herald wrote that Kim lost his first match of the day to Thailand's Tawin Hanprab, who went on to advance to the finals. The South Korean taekwondo athlete got a reprieve as the loser to the finalist in the round of 16.
He then beat Australia's Safwan Khalil to qualify for the bronze medal match.
Kim is ranked number 2 on the World Taekwondo Federation's Olympic rankings, so some had high expectations for the young athlete. Aside from his two world titles, Kim has also won an Asian Games gold medal and an Asian championship.
Kim scored three points with a kick to the head in the last seconds of the second round after being scoreless in the first. He then led with a 6-0 score midway through the third round and denied Navarro of his very first Olympic medal.
After the game, the athlete admitted that he did not feel mentally ready to compete at first, but he got inspired by the encouraging words of his family and friends.
He said, "I was so devastated after losing the first match, but I had this lucky break with the repechage. I never thought about getting a second chance, but when I got it, I was just trying to do my best rather than getting caught up with winning a medal."
The 24-year old athlete also said that he feels he still has room for improvement.
He added, "I thought I'd gone to my share of major international events, but the Olympics are an entirely different animal. I was too tight and didn't quite move the way I wanted to. I think this experience will help me get better in the future."
