OLYMPIAN Elaine Teo made up for her failure in Manila two years ago with a dramatic come-from-behind victory on the final day of the taekwondo competition at the Vongchavalitkul Hall in Korat yesterday.
The 26-year-old lass from Malacca snatched victory from Loraine Lorelie of the Philippines in the women’s Under-51kg final, winning the bout 3-2.
She was trailing the Filipino 1-3 in the third round and fought back to level the score at the end of the round after Lorelie was deducted a point. And a last kick in the final round landed Elaine her third gold medal in five SEA Games outings.
While jubilant Malaysian camp celebrated on the stage with Elaine, Lorelie was reduced to tears after coming so close to victory.
“I never gave up and I knew that I would get my break,” said Elaine, who also won gold in the 1999 and 2001 Games in Brunei and Kuala Lumpur respectively.
Elaine, however, made an embarrassing first-round exit at the last Games in Manila.
“My next target is to make it to the Beijing Olympics,” said Elaine, who featured in the 2004 Athens Games.
Malaysia earned a bronze through Mohd Sultan Kader in the men’s Under-54kg division. He was beaten 0-6 by Thailand’s Khawlaor Chutchawal in the semi-finals.
Two other exponents in action yesterday failed to get among the medals.
Rusfredy Petrus was a loser in the quarter-finals of the men’s Under-58kg competition and Chong Kin Nee was an early casualty in the women’s Under-47kg category.
Malaysia’s taekwondo squad ended their campaign in Korat with a haul of 2-1-5, meeting the target set by the National Sports Council. The other gold medallist was Che Chew Chan in the women’s Under-72kg division.
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