[TAEKWONDO] A determined Patiwat Thongsalap yesterday handed Thailand their second gold when he made light of his knee injury and beat Iran's Alireza Nasr Azadani in a heart-pounding sudden-death bout in the World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.

The men's lightweight event was, undoubtedly, a clash of the titans. The young Patiwat made history for Thailand when he became the first Thai to win a taekwondo gold medal in the World University Games in Izmir last year. Azadani is also an experienced exponent, winning a gold medal in the World University Taekwondo Championships in Valencia this year.

Earlier, Patiwat, 20, beat Italian Claudio Nolano, bronze medallist at the 2004 World Military Taekwondo Championships in Germany, in the second round, while compatriots Dam Srichan and Watcharaporn Dongnoi lost to stronger rivals.

Against the formidable Azadani in the final, Patiwat trailed 0-1 after the second round. The third round was a thriller, with both players trading powerful kicks.

The score was tied 3-3 and sudden death was called to determine the winner. After just 43 seconds, Patiwat landed a lightning-fast right kick to the body of Azadani to end the Iranian's challenge and relieve the tension of the Thai fans, who came to life.

"I am very glad to win my second gold. After the World University Games in Turkey, my form had gradually dropped. I crashed out in the first round in the recent Asian Championships. That made me more determined. I started training intensively with the national squad," said Patiwat, who hails from Trang.

"I wasn't a wee bit nervous when the score was tied at 3-3. Coach Choi's [Young Seuk] presence was quite reassuring. I have been suffering from an injury to my right knee for a while. It's never got better. But that didn't stop me and I just went out there and did my best," said the second-year student at Kasetsart University, who will receive Bt1 million from the National Sports Development Fund for his victory.

Meanwhile, team-mate Dam - the Muay Thai fighter-turned-taekwondo exponent - lost to a strongly built Chang Ha Jang of Korea in the men's welterweight semi-finals. The 28-year-old, who hails from Nakhon Rachasima, had a poor start, trailing 2-5 after the second round.

Dam, who took a karate-do silver medal at the SEA Games in Vietnam, fought valiantly in the third and final round. Despite his efforts, he found the Korean ace a hard nut to crack and went down 3-7.

Thailand's rising star Watcharaporn Dongnoi, a Grade-12 student at Satree Mahapruttaram School, crashed out in the first round in the women's lightweight class, losing a sudden-death battle to Swede Lie Kylborn after the contest was tied at 2-2 after three rounds.

Korea claimed two golds yesterday, with Chang Ha Jang clinching the men's welterweight title after beating France's Bata Augustin 11-6 in the final round.

The women's lightweight crown went to Korean Eun Kyung Jun. She stunned Turk Azize Tanrikulu, a gold medallist at the last year's World University Games, 6-1 in the final.

The last gold was won by Australian Tina Morgan, who narrowly beat Turkey's Sibel Guler 2-1 in the final of the women's welterweight division.

Four more gold medals are up for grabs in the men's and women's bantamweight and featherweight events. Thai exponents will test their mettle in all categories, with Nacha Panthong, a gold medallist at the recent World University Taekwondo Championships, contesting the men's bantamweight event.

The other Thais are rising star Chanata Thanaroekchai in the men's featherweight, Chonnapas Premwaew, bronze medallist at the last year's World Championships in Madrid, who will take part in the women's featherweight, and Laksami Yumankong, a bronze medallist in Izmir, who will compete in the women's bantamweight.

 Preechachan Wiriyanupappong

 The Nation