Elnur Mammadli took just 13 seconds of the men’s under-73kg final to win Azerbaijan’s first ever Olympic judo medal, claiming gold in a day full of shocks yesterday.
Almost nothing went as expected on a day that also saw the virtually unknown Italian Giulia Quintavalle claim gold in the women’s under-57kg category, beating Deborah Gravenstijn of the Netherlands.
Mammadli, 20, stunned 19-year-old world champion Wang Ki-chun with a te-guruma (leg grab) attack that scored ippon, before the South Korean even had time to settle.
PHOTO: AP
It was sweet revenge for the Azerbaijani, who lost to Wang in the World Championship final in Rio de Janeiro a year ago.
On a day of records, Rasul Boquiev of Tajikistan won his country’s first medal of any kind in any sport at the Olympic Games as he edged out Belgium’s Dirk van Tichelt for bronze.
Leandro Guilheiro of Brazil took the other bronze medal with the throw of the day, a full height standing seoi-nage (shoulder throw) on Iran’s Ali Malomat, to match the gong he won four years ago in Athens.
But it was in the women’s divisions where the apple cart was consistently upset, with Quintavalle emerging as the most improbable of winners.
Reigning champion Yvonne Boenisch and world champion Kye Sun-hui were among a host of favorites to crash out early on.
Boenisch over-committed herself in an attack on Quintavalle in the first round and was countered with a slick kosoto-gari (foot-sweep) for a waza-ari (half point) score.
Kye was the next to be shocked as she fell to France’s Barbara Harel in the second round, bundled over for a waza-ari with te-guruma.
Brazil’s Ketleyn Quadros, while China’s Xu Yan completed the most remarkable of podiums, both claiming bronze.
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