Liu Xiaobo became the first man to win the gold medal at the Asian Taekwondo Championships for China as he beat Nguyen Van Hung of Vietnam 0-(-1) in Luoyang, Henan Province on Monday.

Liu, bronze medallist in the Asian Games in 2006, leveled the score (-1)-(-1) after two sets due to the penalty reduction. The 22-year-old Liu never looked back in the breathtaking last set, scoring one crucial point to take the victory.

"I am happy to win this historical gold medal for Chinese men's taekwondo, but I must forget this moment. The Olympic Games are waiting for me, " said Liu.

"Liu had not absolute advantage in the final. He just won the gold by one point, and he was quite lucky today," said Zhao Lei, vice president of the Chinese Taekwondo Association.

"The gold medal is a warning to Liu. He must work harder in the future to make better performance in the Olympics," he added.

Irgashev Akmal of Uzbekistan and Chilmanov Arman of Kazakhstan shared the bronze medal.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29,2008)