[By WTF/NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Thailand and Iran earned one gold medal each on the second day of the taekwondo competition at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games on Aug. 16, 2010 in Singapore.

In the women’s -49kg final match, Thailand’s Worawong Pongpanit needed a fourth sudden-death round to beat Jordan’s Dana Touran for the gold medal.

Ms. Pongpanit, the third placer at the 2010 WTF World Qualification Tournament for the Youth Olympic Games, tied at 4-4 after the third round with Ms. Touran, who finished second at the WTF World Qualification Tournament.

The bronze medal in the women’s division went to Jessie Bates of the United States and Melanie Phan of Canada. In the first round, Ms. Bates, the fifth placer at the WTF World Qualification Tournament, made a 3-0 upset victory over Korea’s So-hui Kim, who finished first at the WTF World Qualification Tournament.

The taekwondo competition, which attracts 99 young athletes from 66 countries, takes place on the fourth floor of the International Convention Center in downtown Singapore.

In the men’s -55kg weight category, Iran’s Keveh Rezaei outpointed Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Mamayev 4-2 in the final match to clinch the gold medal. Mr. Rezaei advanced to the final match with two consecutive RSC (referee stop the contest) victories.

Jia Jun Daryl Tan of Singapore and Quoc Cuong Nguyen of Vietnam took home the bronze medal each in the category. For host Singapore, the taekwondo bronze medal marked the first medal at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.

Reflecting the high popularity of taekwondo, a lot of people applied for the taekwondo training program offered by the WTF Taekwondo Presentation Team on two occasions in the afternoon on the third floor of the International Convention Center, where various IOC-organized Culture and Education Programs (CEP) are under way.

Competition Results
(Day 2, Aug. 16, of Taekwodo Competition, 1st Youth Olympic Games in Singapore)
☞Women’s -49kg Weight Category ▲Gold : Worawong Pongpanit (Thailand) ▲Silver : Dana Touran (Jordan) ▲Bronze : Jessie Bates (USA), Melanie Phan (Canada)
☞Men’s -55kg Weight Category ▲Gold : Keveh Rezaei (Iran) ▲Silver : Nursultan Mamayev (Kazakhstan) ▲Bronze : Jia Jun Daryl Tan (Singapore), Quoc Cuong Nguyen (Vietnam)