The Thai team ended their gold medal drought at the Asian Taekwondo Championships yesterday when Chatchawal Khawlaor and Yaowapa Boorapolchai made history by winning their respective divisions at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok.

Local taekwondo exponents had never won a single gold medal before yesterday at the Asian meet since it started in 1974. Two years ago in South Korea they returned home empty handed, while Chonnapas Premwaew was the lone Thai to win a medal the following year when she claimed a bronze in the women's bantamweight class.

Four Thai exponents - men's finweight Chatchawal, women's finweight Yaowapa, men's flyweight Dech Sutthikunkarn and women's featherweight Chonnapas Premwaew - made it to the finals yesterday.

The in-form Chatchawal won Thailand's first gold at the Asian meet after defeating Filipino John Paul Lizardo 9-3 - sweet revenge as he lost to Lizardo in the final at last year's SEA Games. Shortly after winning the gold medal the 18-year-old from Pathum Thani was hugged by his coaches and wrapped himself in the Thai flag and walked around the stadium.

The Thai team won their second gold medal when Yaowapa, an Athens Olympics heroine, stunned China's Wu Jingyu 8-5 in the final.

Taking on the World University Games champion, Yaowapa trailed 3-1 in the first round, but hit back with back kicks and powerful punches to win the hard-fought thriller. "It's my greatest success on home soil. I have never won a gold medal in the Asian meet and it's the dream gold medal I have been waiting for," she3 said.

"Taking on the Chinese was not an easy job. I was under so much pressure. I just did my best against my toughest rival," a tearful Yaowapa added.

Chatchawal and Yaowapa will receive a total of Bt600,000 in cash incentives - from the Sports Authority of Thailand (Bt500,000), the Government Housing Bank (Bt50,000) and the Woongjin Coway Company (Bt50,000).

In the men's flyweight final, Dech Sutthikunkarn had to be content with the silver medal after losing 5-4 to South Korean You Young-dae, who surprised Athens Olympic champion Chu Mu-yen of Taiwan in the semi-finals.

Team-mate Chonnapas also succumbed to a shock 9-2 loss to Taiwan's Tseng Pei-Hua.

Despite their losses, silver medallists Dech and Chonnapas will each pocket Bt360,000.

The South Korean team, which won three gold medals on the previous day, took the lion's share of three gold medals yesterday. Aside from You's victory in the men's flyweight division, two more gold medals came from Kwon Eun-Kyung, who beat Vietnam's Do Thi Bich Hanh in a sudden-death match in the women's flyweight category, and Lee Mun-Kyu, who outclassed Jordanian Jamil al-Khuffash 8-4 in the men's featherweight division.

The last gold of the day was won by Taiwan's Tseng Pei-Hua, who crushed Thai Chonnapas 9-2 in the women's featherweight final.

A total of six gold medals are on offer today, the final day of the 33-nation tournament. The medals to be contested are in the lightweight, welterweight and heavyweight divisions for both men and women.

All eyes will be on lightweight Patiwat Thongsalap, Thailand's lone gold medallist at last year's University Games. However, a Herculean task awaits the Thai with world champion and Athens Olympics gold medallist Hadi Saei Boneh Kohal of Iran waiting for him on the mat.

Preechachan Wiriyanupappong

The Nation