Cha keen to restore honor with taekwondo gold at Rio
Reuters
Published Jul 14, 2016 05:05AM ET
Cha keen to restore honor with taekwondo gold at Rio
(Reuters) - Olympic taekwondo champion Cha Dong-min is keen to salvage his bruised pride by winning the gold at the 2016 Rio Games and re-establish South Korea as a superpower in the sport.
The 29-year-old failed to defend his title at the London Games after a defeat in the quarter-finals, which was the country's first loss in the heaviest weight class since the sport's introduction in the 2000 Sydney Games.
"I want to restore my honor," Cha was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency. "In Beijing, I was thrilled to be at the Olympics, and in London, I felt so much pressure because I was under the spotlight as the top gold medal hopeful.
"Now, it feels almost the same as the 2008 Olympics, but I feel more comfortable.
"In my weight class, there are tall fighters who have good agility. But I have already finished analyzing them and I'm ready to fight."
South Korea had one of it's lowest medal hauls in the sport in London, winning one gold and a silver compared to the four medals captured in each of the previous three editions.
"It is true that there's been an increase in parity in taekwondo," Cha added. "I want to rebuild South Korea's legacy in the men's over-80kg division in Rio."
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.