Two rookie South Koreans will make their debut on Thursday to defend the honor of the taekwondo powerhouse.

Lim Su-jeong, who celebrated her 22nd birthday on Wednesday, will compete in the women's 57kg category, and Son Tae-jin, 20, will fight for the title in men's 68kg division in the Olympic taekwondo events, which began on Wednesday in the University of Science and Technology Beijing gymnasium.

Head coach Kim Sei-hyeok said after the draw that South Korea is to win four golds.

It won't be an easy job for Lim, gold medalist in the world qualification events, to present the ambitious team a good start, as she will face a tough opponent, Su Li-Wen of Chinese Taipei, in the first round during the preliminaries.

Veteran Su, Asian Games gold medalist in women's 63kg category, has already been prepared "physically and mentally no matter who she will fight against", according to head coach Ho Wei-Hsing.

If Lim wins, she will not meet real challenges until fighting against the younger sister of the famous Lopez's, Diana Lopez, in the final if the 2005 world champion can also make it in another pool.

Son Tae-jin will also have a tough fight in the preliminaries and another Lopez, Mark Lopez of the USA, also a 2005 world champion will also be a potential gold contender. The question is whether they can meet in the final competition.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2008)