(BEIJING, August 19) -- August 20 will be the curtain-raising day for the Olympic Taekwondo competition, with the Women's under-49 kilogram weight class and Men's under-58 kilogram weight class competitions taking place.

　　Women's -49kg weight class

　　Yang Shu-chun of Chinese Taipei and Wu Jingyu of China are considered the biggest favorites in this weight division.

　　In the two athletes' previous matches, Wu defeated Yang 3-0 in the Beijing World Championships in 2007 before claiming a gold medal in the final. Yang finished third in the competition. In 2008, Yang took the Asian champion title by beating Wu in the final.

　　Other medal contenders include European champion Sumeyye Gulec of Germany, Charlotte Craig of the United States, who won a bronze medal at the 2007 Beijing World Championships, and Venezuelan Dalia Contreras Rivero, who finished eighth at Athens 2004 and fifth in the 2007 Beijing World Championships.

　　Men's -58kg weight class

　　Defending champion Chu Mu-yen of Chinese Taipei will lead the hunt for gold in the Men's -58kg competition.

　　Chu will face a challenge from the reigning world champion, 32-year-old Spanish veteran Juan Antonio Ramos, if both men can beat their respective opponents in the first two matches.

　　Mexico's Guillermo Perez, who won silver in the Flyweight 54-58kg at the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing, is another powerful medal contender.

　　Chutchawal Khawlaor of Thailand, the World Championships silver medalist in the -54kg division, will face more tough challenges from Taekwondo fighters in a higher weight division, as the weight divisions in the Beijing Olympics are broader.