| S. Korean wins gold in Greco-Roman |
LONDON A South Korean wrestler nicknamed ‘Mowgli’ won gold in the Greco-Roman wrestling at the London Games late on Tuesday, overcoming a badly swollen eye that left him struggling to see properly.
Kim Hyeon-woo, 23, beat Hungary’s Tamas Lorincz in the 66kg final, the third lightest category in one of the world’s oldest and most physical sports.
“In my high school, I used to run around in my bare feet, so my friends gave the nickname of Mowgli,” he said.
He suffered a nasty blow to the right eye in the first qualifying round and it had closed by the time he reached the final.
“I couldn’t open the eye, I couldn’t see,” he said. “The swelling got bigger and bigger as I went on.”
There was more success for Iran in the second final of the night when Ghasem Rezaei won the Greco-Roman heavyweight class, taking his country’s wrestling gold tally to three.
The Iranian, who only managed 16th place in Beijing four years ago, beat Russia’s Rustam Totrov in the final of the 96kg weight class.
Jubilant Iranian supporters roared and waved their nation’s flags as Rezaei kissed and hugged his coach in celebration.
Reuters
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