Published: August 22, 2008 05:54 pm      

Iran takes men’s taekwondo gold

BEIJING — Iran’s Hadi Saei won the men’s 80-kilogram class taekwondo gold on Friday, defeating Italy’s Mauro Sarmiento.

Saei, who won the gold in a lower weight class in Athens, moved ahead in the first round, but Sarmiento hit him squarely with a head kick to make the score 4-2.

Saei landed a kick in the second round to move within a point, then another to tie the score 4-4. Saei came out quickly in the third, scoring another point for the lead. He added on a sixth point to seal the victory.

Steven Lopez of the United States scored on Azerbaijan’s Rashad Ahmadov in the final seconds to win bronze. The second bronze went to China’s Zhu Guo, who defeated Britain’s Aaron Cook 4-1.

Taekwondo awards two bronze medals in each weight class.