Welterweight (≤67 kilograms), Women

Hwang Gyeong-Seon was a bronze medalist in this class at Athens in 2004, but had won the World Championships in both 2005 and 2007. At both Worlds, she had defeated France’s Gwladys Épangue in the final. In Beijing the two would meet again, but this time in the semi-final, with the result the same, as Hwang advanced to the final. There she met Canadian Karine Sergerie, a 2007 World Champion as a lightweight, but who had to move up in weight because her class was not contested at the Olympics. Sergerie led the final through the first round, 1-0, but it was tied 1-1 after two rounds. In the final round, Hwang scored with a kick with 35 seconds remaining to win the gold medal, 2-1, and would return in 2012 to defend her Olympic gold medal.

Épangue came through to win a bronze medal in Beijing, and she would end her streak of not quite winning gold with victories at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships, moving up to the middleweight class in 2011.