BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Gentil Pascal earned France the first gold medal here on Friday when he overcame China's Yang Fuchao 2-1 in the men's over 80kg final at the "2008 Good Luck Beijing" International Taekwondo Invitational Tournament.

As the double bronze medalist of the Sydney and Athens Olympics, the 35-year-old French also has a nickname of "Black Tiger" in the taekwondo arena. In the final, Gentil controlled the pace of the match since the opening set.

Hit by an unintentional kick on his vitals in the first set, the veteran rallied to stand up to score a point. However, Gentil was whistled a penalty later as he was forced out of the box.

While the 22-year-old Yang, who had no international experience before, couldn't find the rhythm but still kicked on French's chest to score in the second set.

"Today I couldn't keep up with the rival's fast moves which made me look passive," commented Yang.

In a cliffhanging final set, Gentil gave full play to his fast steps and clever moves to score one decisive point.

"I'm 35 years old and already have two daughters now. However, I haven't decided to give up taekwondo as I love it and will try to enter the national squad for the Beijing Olympics. I'm looking forward to being here again in August," said Gentil after the championship bout.

The bronze medals went to China's Liu Xiaobo and Wang Lin.