Games-Taekwondo-Doha gold spares Kim army stint

DOHA, Dec 11 (Reuters) Taekwondo instructor Kim Hak-hwan earns a living from the Korean martial art. Winning Asian Games gold in the sport also earned him two years of freedom.

The 25-year-old, who won gold in the heavyweight division, will be awarded an exemption from otherwise mandatory military service in South Korea.

The exemption is a juicy incentive for all the country's male athletes competing in major sports events and players from the country's soccer team that reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup were also able to take advantage of the offer.

''I was to have gone to the military, but I'm honoured I was selected for the Games,'' the taekwondo instructor told reporters. ''Now I've won the gold, I'll be exempted. I'm very happy.'' South Korea captured nine of the 16 taekwondo medals on offer at the December 1-15 Games, with Olympic bronze medallist Song Myeong-seob and Lee Sung-hye joining Kim on the winner's podium on the final day of competition yesterday.

Asian Taekwondo Union (ATU) President Dai Soon-lee said that despite South Korea dominating the titles, the fact that 17 countries won medals augured well for the sport.

''This has been one of the most successful competitions we've had,'' he told Reuters. ''The athletes were more equal this time, that is why more countries have won medals.

China took three of the seven taekwondo golds not won by South Korea, with Iran, Taiwan, Jordan and hosts Qatar each taking one title.

But while the sport enjoys extensive participation around the world, it struggles for attention at events such as the Olympics and the Asian Games.

Dai admitted taekwondo needed to widen its appeal and that the scoring system sometimes left spectators perplexed.

''We need to educate the fans,'' he said. ''But this is a martial art, so they don't understand.

''We've 182 nations as members, which means taekwondo is growing.'' REUTERS SAM KP1500