E-Paper
Taekwondo
A packed stadium and significant home interest helped fire up the Olympic taekwondo tournament in Athens.
A packed stadium and significant home interest helped fire up the Olympic taekwondo tournament in Athens.
The hosts Greece did not come away with a gold medal but their brave and valiant fighters lifted the spirits of the sell-out crowds by winning two silver medals.
One of those medallists, Alexandros Nikolaidis, was on the wrong end of the most dramatic moment of a competition that offered blood, sweat and tears in almost equal measures.
Nikolaidis was the unfortunate recipient of a knock-out heel kick to the side of his head during the greatest moment of his life, the Olympic final.
OVER-RIDING MEMORY
Once his senses were returned and he could hold himself up again with the strength of his own legs, he and his conqueror provided the over-riding memory for taekwondo fans.
The humble victor, South Korea's Moon Dae-sung, and his felled opponent shared a long and lingering embrace before saluting the crowd in unison, hand-in-hand.
It was not always like this in the taekwondo tournament, in fact it was more often noticeable for its lack of discipline, lack of sportsmanship and controversy.
The refereeing was a sore point for many involved and the opening day was chaotic, punctuated by frequent mat-invasions by disgruntled coaches.
It seemed as if the competition would descend into farce at times, but somehow taekwondo got a hold of itself, recovered and ended with that dramatic final spectacle, embracing sporting brilliance and sportsmanship in equal measures.
Moon was a dynamic and a deserved victor, landing one of only two knockout blows in the entire competition.
The other, from Austria's Tuncay Caliskan landed Bertrand Gbongou Liango of the Central African Republic in hospital, but thankfully he recovered.
Initial fears that South Korea would dominate proved unfounded as the home of taekwondo managed two gold and two bronze medals from its four fighters.
China and Taiwan matched Korea's gold medal haul but in Steven Lopez, the United States had probably the best fighter at the Games.
He was also the only non-Asian victor, giving the rest of the world hope that they can compete with the speed and accuracy of not only Koreans but all East Asians.
Taekwondo had its problems but full houses ensured it will be viewed as a success.
