Yeldos Smetov claimed Kazakhstan's first ever Olympic judo gold in the men's 60kg category, while Natsumi Tsunoda of Japan took the women's 48kg title.
PARIS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Yeldos Smetov won the gold medal in the Paris 2024 judo men's 60kg category here on Saturday, winning his and Kazakhstan's first ever Olympic judo gold.
In the final, two-time Olympic medalist Smetov defeated world No. 3 Luka Mkheidze of France. Both competitors beat their results from the Tokyo Olympics, where they had shared the podium to take the bronze medal.
"Without an Olympic gold, I will not leave the competition arena," the 31-year-old veteran Smetov had said four years ago. "If I need to keep fighting until I'm 40, I will do it."
Smetov's dream finally came true in Paris. "I waited for this moment for a long time. I worked very hard to get to the Olympic stage, and I want to thank my parents, my wife and my children."
The bronze medal was shared by Ryuju Nagayama of Japan and Spain's Francisco Garrigos.
In the women's 48kg event, world No. 2 judoka Baasankhuu Bavuudorj of Mongolia beat Spain's Laura Martinez Abelenda by an ippon in the semifinal to set up a final showdown against world No. 4 Natsumi Tsunoda of Japan.
In the final, three-time world champion Tsunoda beat Bavuudorj by a waza-ari during regular time, earning Japan their first gold at the Paris Olympics.
"I trained a lot to prepare for the Paris Olympics, along with a lot of pressure. It was a wonderful moment in my life. The opponents were powerful, but I kept fighting for those who believed in me," said Tsunoda.
Shirine Boukli of France shared the bronze with Sweden's Tara Babulfath. Guo Zongying of China was eliminated in the round of 32.
"I'm so happy to win a medal at such an important tournament held in Paris. I imagined the Olympics with my teammates a few months ago, and today, it was incredible to win bronze," said Boukli. ■
