Korea Wins 12th Gold as Men's Football Team Fizzles

Kim, 23, said wrestling "is my life," and added, "I think this victory will change my life."

Elsewhere Tuesday, the women's handball team reached its eighth straight Olympic semifinals. It squeezed past Russia 24-23, preserving the victory with key late-minute defensive stops and last-gasp goals by Gwon Han-na.

Gwon, a 22-year-old Olympic rookie, had mostly warmed the bench for five group stage matches. But she led South Korea with six goals against Russia, including the goal that gave South Korea a 23-22 lead with about three minutes left.

"I tried to play with confidence, believing I could score every time I took a shot," Gwon said. "I am not the type to get nervous before games anyway."

South Korea will face Norway in the semis. In the group stage, the two teams played to a 27-27 draw.

It's also a rematch from the semifinals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when Norway edged South Korea 29-28 with a last-second goal. South Korea settled for bronze then.

Earlier in the day, the women's table tennis team lost to Singapore in the bronze medal match. Kim Kyung-ah, Seok Ha-jung and Dang Ye-seo were helpless against Singapore's Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu, who dominated two singles matches and one doubles match with an array of hard smashes and sharp returns.

This is the first time South Korea has failed to win a medal in women's table tennis since the sport became a medal event in 1988.

The country can get to gold medal No. 13 Wednesday, with taekwondo world champion Lee Dae-hoon taking the mat in the men's under-58㎏ class. (Yonhap News)