Tanrikulu Of Turkey Wins Silver In Olympic Taekwondo Event

ATHENS - Bahri Tanrikulu of Turkey, competing in 80 kg taekwondo, won silver medal in the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games on Saturday.
Tanrikulu was defeated by Steven Lopez of the United States, the Sydney 2000 Olympic champion and the world champion in 2001 and 2003, and became the silver medallist.
Bahri Tanrikulu toured the hall, carrying Turkish and Greek flags after he won the silver. He was applauded by Greek spectators for this behavior.
After the match, Tanrikulu said, ``I want peace in the world. When I became the European champion here in 2000, the Greeks had also supported me sincerely. I thank them all.``
``I had some tactics, but I couldn`t win the gold. I am glad to win a silver, but I am sad to lose in the final,`` Tanrikulu added.
(BRC) 29.08.2004