Liu You-yun wins Taiwan's 1st World Taekwondo gold in a decade

Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) Taiwanese fighter Liu You-yun (劉侑芸) claimed Taiwan's first gold medal in 10 years at the World Taekwondo Championships on Saturday, defeating Elif Sude Akgül of Turkey in the women's under-49 kilogram kyorugi final in Wuxi, China.

The 18-year-old Liu, competing at her first world championships, edged the 19-year-old Akgül 2-1 after three rounds in the sparring discipline.

After dropping a tight first round on judges' decision, Liu rallied with an 8-3 second round, landing a clean head kick to level the match.

In the deciding round, Akgül took an early lead before Liu connected with another head kick in the final seconds. The strike was confirmed on video review, sealing a 3-1 win for Liu in the third round.

The gold marks Taiwan's first at the biennial championships since 2015, when Chuang Chia-chia (莊佳佳) won in the women's under-67 kg division in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Liu advanced to the final after defeating Spain's Olympic silver medalist Adriana Cerezo Iglesias in the quarterfinals and Kazakhstan's Nodira Akhmedova in the semifinals.

Earlier this year, Liu also won the women's under-49 kg titles at the Swedish Open and the Charlotte World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge, cementing her rise as one of Taiwan's top young fighters.