Sept. 27, 2000

SYDNEY, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Thailand and India shared boxing disappointment on Wednesday, with Thai hero Somluck Kamsing's bid for another gold falling short and an Indian boxer failing in the last second to secure his country's first boxing medal.

Taiwan also had their hopes of breaking through to win their first Olympic gold delayed, possibly just for one day, as taekwondo made its Olympic debut.

Kamsing, who became a national hero when he won gold four years ago in Atlanta, was outclassed by American Ricardo Juarez in their 57 kg quarter-final with the fight stopped in the fourth round.

His is the only Olympic gold Thailand have won.

Two other Thais did advance to the semifinals, assuring themselves of at least a bronze.

In the flyweight quarter-finals, Wijan Ponlid easily beat Manuel Mantilla Rodriguez of Cuba on a 19-8 decision, and Pornchai Thongburan moved into the light-middleweight semifinals with a 15-9 decision over Hekal Mohamed Abdelmawgod of Egypt.

Gurcharan Singh came within seconds of a first Olympic boxing medal for his country before it slipped away.

Light-heavyweight Singh was ahead of Andri Fedtchouk 11-10 with just 14 seconds remaining, but a flurry at the end left the final score at 12-12, and the Ukrainian won the tiebreak 60-42 on a countback.

"It was most disappointing to our camp, a great disappointment," said team manager Rajesh Bhandari.

"He could not make it. Our boxer fought very well but the other boy was also good. It was an equal bout."

TAEKWONDO CHANCES

Taiwan were looking for good news with the introduction of taekwondo, but their first two champions -- Huang Chih-hsiung in the men's 58 kg and 17-year-old Chi Shu-ju in the women's 49 kg -- failed to make it into the semifinals after winning their first round matches.

They ended up instead with bronze medals.

Taekwondo, an ancient martial art which resembles karate but focuses on kicks with bare feet, is Korea's national sport but is very popular in Taiwan.

Taiwan's last two taekwondo competitors will be in action on Thursday. South Korea, who had no competitors on Wednesday, will be trying for medals on Thursday.

South Korea broke open a pitcher's duel with three runs in the eighth to beat arch-rivals Japan 3-1 to take the bronze in baseball. The gold was won by the United States with the silver going to Cuba.

It was South Korea's first Olympic baseball medal and the first time Japan have finished without one since the sport was introduced into the Games in 1992.

South Korea also moved into the semifinals in women's basketball with Yang Jung-Ok scoring 15 points in a 68-59 win over France.

After 12 days of competition, China remain easily the most successful Asian nation, with 22 golds. South Korea and Japan have five each and Indonesia one, with four days of competition left.

China did not add any golds on Wednesday, but Fu Mingxia will bid for a record-equalling fourth Olympic diving gold on Thursday, with team mate Guo Jingjing standing in here way.

The two were the top qualifiers for the final of the women's three-metre springboard.

South Korea picked up a silver in the Greco-roman 58 kg class when Bulgaria's Armen Nazarian beat Kim In-Sub in the final.

Japan also had to settle for silver, with Katsuhiko Nagata falling short against Cuba's Filiberto Azcuy in the 69 kg final.