BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- There have been quite
highlights as well as upsets in Monday's judo competition at the Beijing Olympic
Games and gold medals were distributed to more countries.
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Elnur Mammadli (L) of Azerbaijan celebrates after defeating Wang Kichun of South Korea during the men's 73kg final of judo at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 11, 2008. Mammadli claimed the title in this event. (Xinhua/Wang Lei) Photo Gallery>>> |
In men's 73kg category, judokas from Middle Asian
Azerbaijan and Tajikistan proved their abilities by grabbing gold and bronze
medals which both created the best results in judo for the two countries.
Elnur Mammadli, silver medalist of world
championships 2007, ousted South Korean Ki Chun Wang in the final by making an
ippon victory with just 13 seconds.
Cheered by his compatriots shouting at the stands,
Mammadli could not believe his sudden victory when the referee gestured an
ippon. He confirmed the result by staring at the referee also with a finger
gesture when still bended knees on the mat.
The gold medalist contributed his success a lot to
his native supporters, saying "I'm bowing deeply in front of the people of
Azerbaijan."
He bit the medal when standing at the top platform to
taste his first Olympic champion, his best international result before coming to
Beijing was silver medal of the 2007 world championships in Rio de janeiro.
Rasul Boquiev from Tajikistan outscored Dirk van
Tichelt from Belgium to win the bronze medal after he was defeated by Wang.
"Actually it is the first Olympic medal for
Tajikistan," Boquiev said, "I'm just very glad that my country gave me the
opportunity to come here to compete in this category."
"My success will prove that there are also people who
are good at judo in Tajikistan," he added.
Leandro Guilheiro from Brazil won his second
consecutive Olympic bronze medal by throwing down Ali Malomat from Iran with an
ippon after qualifying from a repechage.
There had been two upsets in women's competition. Sun
Hui Kye from DPRK was ousted at her second fight. She has been one of the
favorite judoka in the category for her two world championships titles before
the games.
Kye, who won gold medal in women's 48kg class in
Atlanta, has played four Olympic Games in straight. She changed herself to 52kg
and gained a bronze medal in Sydney, then changed again to 57kg and won a silver
in Athens.
Defending champion Yvonne Boenisch of Germany was
outscored by the goldmedalist Quintavalle at the first round. She failed again
in repechage which has been a surprise to many.
Italian Giulia Quintavalle outscored Deborah
Gravenstijn from the Netherlands in the final, adding the third gold medal to
Italy at the Beijing Olympic Games.
China's Xu Yan, outscored Barbara Harel of France
coming from repechage at first and then ipponed to win the other bronze.
Being an underdog in the class, Xu flipped herself
and called for cheering from mass Chinese spectators after winning. She
outscored Japan's Aiko Sato, world bronze medalist in 2007, but was halted by
Gravenstijn at semifinal.
Xu and Japan's Aiko Sato performed a dramatic bout in
which they were both penalized by a koka for foul. Later, Sato scored another
koka in a sudden attack, but the Japanese fouled again which surrendered a
decisive yuko advantage to Xu.
"I have won against her for four times, so I felt
quite easy in fighting against her today," said Xu Yan who was beaten by Sato in
Asian Championships last year in Kuwait City.