Kim Yu-jin wins another gold for South Korea, Ulugbek Rashitov secures back-to-back taekwondo titles

PARIS (AP) — South Korea is back in force in taekwondo.

After leaving the Tokyo Games without a single gold medal in the sport it invented, the East Asian nation claimed a second title in as many days at the Paris Olympics.

It came down to Kim Yu-jin in the women’s 57-kilogram division on Thursday, a day after Park Tae-joon claimed the title in the men’s 58kg class.

The tall and lanky Kim defeated several athletes with a serious pedigree to reach the final, including the top-seeded Luo Zongshi of China in the semifinals. She was then ruthless in the gold-medal match to hand a brutal defeat to world champion Nahid Kiyani Chandeh of Iran.

“I believed in myself, that gave me extra confidence and I did not think about the rankings of my opponents,” Kim said. “I also put in a lot of efforts, that's how I got the gold medal.”

Kimia Alizadeh, who was the first Iranian female athlete ever to win an Olympic medal when she claimed bronze in Rio de Janeiro as an 18-year-old, secured another medal of the same color eight years later but for another country.

After defecting from Iran, Alizadeh is now representing Bulgaria. She lost her opening-round match against Kiyani Chandeh and later claimed bronze through a repechage process.

In the men's competition, Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 68-kilogram division.

Rashitov, who won the title in Tokyo three years ago, won his four bouts at the Paris Games without losing a single round. He wrapped up the title with a victory Thursday over Zaid Kareem of Jordan, who reached the final in his Olympic debut.

The 22-year-old Rashitov opened up the fight with a beautiful turning kick to Zaid’s head and was then in total control.

“I was just 19 for my first Olympic Games, I did not realize what it meant,” Rashitov said when asked if he would chase a third gold in four years at the Los Angeles Games. “Now I realize how demanding it is, mentally and psychologically.”

Liang Yushuai of China and Edival Pontes of Brazil took the bronze medals.

Taekwondo tournaments at the Olympics award two bronze medals, with the losing semifinalists facing two contestants who lost to the finalists in the elimination phase but gained another podium chance through repechage.

Jade Jones failed in he bid to become the first taekwondo athlete to win three Olympic gold medals.

Competing in her fourth Olympics, Jones lost her opening bout in Paris against Miljana Reljikj of North Macedonia. In a close contest, both fighters were tied 1-1 at the end of the deciding third round and Reljiki was awarded the win on superiority.

The 31-year-old Jones was the first British athlete to become an Olympic taekwondo champion at the 2012 London Olympics. She kept her title four years later in Rio de Janeiro and then suffered an early exit in Tokyo.

Jones competed in Paris after she was cleared of any wrongdoing by the British anti-doping agency following a failure to submit herself to a drug test last December.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Brazil's Edival Pontes celebrates on the podium after winning the bronze medal in a men's 68kg Taekwondo competition during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

China's Liang Yushuai celebrates on the podium after winning the bronze medal in a men's 68kg Taekwondo competition during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Rashitov competes with Jordan's Zaid Kareem in a men's 68kg Taekwondo final match during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Rashitov celebrates after winning the gold medal in a men's 68kg Taekwondo final match against Jordan's Zaid Kareem during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Rashitov celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal in a men's 68kg Taekwondo competition during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Rashitov celebrates after winning the gold medal in a men's 68kg Taekwondo final match against Jordan's Zaid Kareem during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Korea's Kim Yujin competes with Iran's Nahid Kiyanichandeh in a women's 57kg Taekwondo final match during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Korea's Kim Yujin competes with Iran's Nahid Kiyanichandeh in a women's 57kg Taekwondo final match during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Korea's Kim Yujin celebrates after winning the gold medal in a women's 57kg Taekwondo final match against Iran's Nahid Kiyanichandeh during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Korea's Kim Yujin celebrates with her coaches after winning the gold medal in a women's 57kg Taekwondo final match against Iran's Nahid Kiyanichandeh during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

HONG KONG (AP) — Global stocks were mixed Friday after stocks in the United States pulled closer to their record highs following economic reports that came in close to expectations.

European markets were mostly higher in early trading Friday after the European Central Bank reduced interest rates again on Thursday to support sluggish growth as inflation continues to subside. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 7,454.10, and Germany’s DAX added 0.4% to 18,595.43. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.1% to 8,234.25.

Futures for the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% and those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7% to close at 36,581.76 after data released Friday showed the nation’s industrial production increased 2.9% year-on-year in July, signaling improved demand in the manufacturing sector.

The dollar fell to 141.68 yen from 141.79 yen, adding pressure on Japan’s exports.

“The Bank of Japan is not expected to make any rate move at its meeting next week, but there may be some hawkish pricing brewing for policymakers to lay the groundwork for further rate hikes in December and beyond,” said IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8% to 17,369.09, while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.5% at 2,704.09 after China’s legislature announced Friday that it would raise the retirement age from 60 to 63 years for men and from 50 to 55 or 58 years for women, according to state media. The Chinese Academy of Sciences said the pension system may run out of money by 2035 because of the current economic slump and an aging population.

China is also set to release its monthly economic data on Saturday, with market predictions that the three key indicators — industrial production, fixed asset investment and retail sales — will show a slowdown.

Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,099.90. South Korea’s Kospi picked up 0.1% to 2,575.41.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 5,595.76, climbing back to within 1.3% of its record set in July following a shaky summer. It's on track for a fourth winning week in the past five.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6% to 41,096.77, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1% to 17,569.68.

One report said the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits last week ticked up, though it remains low relative to history. Another said prices charged at the wholesale level were 1.7% higher in August than a year before. That’s a slowdown from July’s inflation rate, but an underlying measure that economists see as a better predictor of future trends also ticked up more than expected.

The inflation data was similar to Wednesday’s report on prices at the U.S. consumer level. It kept traders betting the Fed will deliver a traditional-sized cut of a quarter of a percentage point next week, instead of the larger half-point that some had been expecting.

While lower interest rates help goose the economy and investment prices, they can also give inflation more fuel.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 48 cents to $69.45 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 50 cents to $72.47 a barrel.

The euro cost $1.1088, up from $1.1074.

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)