COLOMBO, Jan 8 (Reuters) - A young man lunged at Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom with a kitchen knife on Tuesday in what his spokesman called an assassination attempt, but he was unharmed.

"The President was in the far north for the inauguration of a renewable energy project. He was shaking hands with supporters, when a young man came and tried to stab him with a large kitchen knife," Presidential spokesman Mohamed Shareef told Reuters.

"He was saved by a boy who moved in the way and tried to grab the knife and suffered a serious injury to his hand," he added. "The President was not hurt, but the knife did catch his shirt. It was definitely an assassination attempt on his life." (Reporting by Simon Gardner)

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