Majlinda Kelmendi gave Kosovo their first ever judo world title on Tuesday as she beat Brazil’s Erika Miranda in the under-52kg gold medal match in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 22-year-old — the first Kosovar judoka to win a medal at the championships since it became a state in its’ own right in 2008 — was not a shock winner as she traveled to Rio de Janeiro ranked world No. 1 in her category having won the prestigious Masters event.
For Miranda it was also her first medal at either the world championships or the Olympic Games, the 26-year-old having lost the bronze medal match in the 2007 and 2010 world championships.
Photo: AFP
It was the first time that Brazil won a medal in the women’s under-52kg category.
The bronze medals went to Germany’s Mareen Kraeh and Yuki Hashimoto of Japan — the latter Japan’s third medal in as many events in Rio.
JAPANESE SUCCESS
Photo: Reuters
The Japanese — who endured their worst showing at the Olympic Games in London last year garnering just one gold medal, with the men winning none — added two more medals to their tally in Tuesday’s second final, the men’s under-66kg category.
Japan’s Masashi Ebinuma defeated Kazakh judoka Azamat Mukanov in the final, while his compatriot, Masaaki Fukuoka, took bronze along with Ukraine’s Georgii Zantaraia.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
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