SUZHOU, China (July 6, 2014) - Spain and Korea clinched one gold medal each on the third and final day of the 2014 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series 1 in Suzhou, China on July 6, 2014.
After three days of heated competitions at the 2014 Suzhou Grand Prix Series, a total of 18 countries took home at least one medal. A total of 236 athletes from 57 countries competed for top honors at the Suzhou event, which took place at the Suzhou Sports Center.
In the overall medal tally, Korea topped other countries as it took home two gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. Host China came next with two golds and two bronzes, followed by Chinese Taipei with one gold and one bronze.
Spain, Gabon and the Isle of Man won one gold each, while Russia clinched three silvers. Brazil, France and Mexico grabbed one silver each, while Argentina, Iran and the United Kingdom took two bronze medals each. Australia, Hungary, Serbia, Azerbaijan and Japan took home one bronze medal each.
In the women's -57kg final match, Spain's Eva Calvo Gomez, the gold medal winner at the 2013 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in Manchester, the United Kingdom, defeated Korea's So-hee Kim 2-0 to earn her country the gold medal. Calvo Gomez also received a top-prize money of $5,000.
Calvo Gomez needed a fourth golden-point round to reach the final contest as she was tied at 4-4 at the end of the third round against Chinese Taipei's Li Cheng Tseng. Korea's Kim also required a fourth golden-point round after tying at 11-11 at the end of the third round against Japan's Mayu Hamada to advance to the final match.
Kim made it to the round of four by beating Great Britain's Jade Jones, the gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games and the silver medal winner at the 2013 Manchester Grand Prix Final, 8-3 in a quarterfinal match.
In the men's -68kg final contest, Korea's Dae-hoon Lee, the silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games, crushed Russia's Vasilii Nikitin 19-6 to win the gold medal and a top-prize money of $5,000.
Lee advanced to the final match as he managed to brush aside a stiff challenge from his semifinal opponent, Iran's Behnam Asbaghikhanghah, to score the winning point in a fourth golden-point round.
In the category, Iran's Asbaghikhanghah and host China's Jiannan Huang shared the bronze medal.
The next 2014 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series are scheduled for Aug. 29-31 in Astana, Kazakhstan and Oct. 24-26 in Manchester, Great Britain. The 2014 World Grand Prix Final is scheduled for Dec. 13-14 in Queretaro, Mexico.
