Taekwondo Preview

[Anchor Lead]

The Olympic martial art taekwondo originated in Korea, and this year the country will send a record number of five athletes to compete in the sport at the Summer Olympics. Lee Dae-hoon in the 68 kilogram weight class has his eyes set on winning a gold medal in Rio to complete a Grand Slam.

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Lee Dae-hoon narrowly missed winning a Grand Slam at the London Olympics four years ago. Since then, he has taken on the risk of increasing his weight class by ten kilograms. He focused on building muscle to qualify for the 68 kilogram division. His effort bore fruit as he won in various global competitions and maintained his world number one ranking. Lee has won the World Taekwondo Championship, the Asian Games and the Asian Taekwondo Championships. The final piece in his puzzle to complete the Grand Slam is an Olympic gold medal.

[Soundbite] Lee Dae-hoon(National Taekwondo Team) : "If I give my best in the Olympics alone and reap good results, I believe the Grand Slam will naturally follow."

Lee is also training to adjust to new changes adopted in the Rio Olympics aimed at encouraging more aggressive play, such as an octagonal arena. Electronic head gear will be introduced and the number of sensors attached to the athlete's feet will also be increased. Accordingly, Lee is preparing for more carefully devised strategies.

[Soundbite] Park Jong-man(Olympic Taekwondo Team Coach) : "Foreign athletes from places like Africa and Cuba are very tall. Their legs and feet are also longer. We're focusing on defense training against attacks to the face."

Amid fierce competition against other countries, Korea's Taekwondo athletes are doing their best to perfect their form ahead of Rio.