Paris 2024 taekwondo: All results, as Republic of Korea’s Park Taejoon wins men’s -58kg gold

After a thrilling night of taekwondo at the iconic Grand Palais, the men’s -58kg gold-medal match came to a decisive end as Republic of Korea’s Park Taejoon fought his way to Paris 2024 gold over Azerbaijan’s Gashim Magomedov 2-0 on Wednesday, 7 August.

Both men stepped on to the mat on Wednesday night for the final after dominating opponents in three prior contests each. Less than one minute into their match, Magomedov fell to the ground with an injured left leg.

As medics assessed Magomedov's calf and knee, Park offered his support in a noble act of sportsmanship.

Refusing to give up his shot at Olympic gold, the 24-year-old Azerbaijani got back up to continue fighting, going down for a second time with 14 seconds of the first round left on the clock.

Heavily limping, there was perseverance in his eyes as he returned to the fight one final time, but the win ultimately went to Park as Magomedov fell again to the ground in obvious, excruciating pain halfway through the second round.

"I wanted to make a show, but I couldn't continue. I tried to but there was too much pain," Magomedov said after the fight.

Still an incredible feat, the Azerbaijani will stand on the Olympic podium for the first time with a silver medal around his neck.

“Every day and every month and every year is just training for my family, for my father, for my baby, my wife."

Park, who was crowned the 2023 world champion after his international debut in the -54kg class, continued his streak of debut wins after his first Olympic appearance and celebrated with a gymnastics-like side aeriel.

“This Olympic gold medal was my very big dream and now I have made my dream come true,” he said, before admitting he did feel sorry for his opponent.

Taekwondo: Men's -58kg podium

Gold: Park Taejoon, Republic of Korea

Silver: Gashim Magomedov, Azerbaijan

Bronze: Cyrian Ravet, France

Bronze: Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi, Tunisia