Mammadli makes history on day of judo shocks in Beijing (AFP)

Tag : rolled bronze

BEIJING (AFP) - Elnur Mammadli took just 13 seconds of the men's-73kg final to win Azerbaijan's first ever Olympic judo medal on astunning day to claim gold at the Beijing Games on Monday.
Almost nothing went as was expected on a day of shocks that alsosaw the virtually unknown Italian Giulia Quintavalle claim gold inthe women's -57kg category, beating Deborah Gravenstijn of theNetherlands.
Mammadli, 20, stunned 19-year-old world champion Wang Ki Chun witha te-guruma (leg grab) attack that scored ippon, before the SouthKorean even had time to settle.
It was sweet revenge for the Azerbaijani who lost to Wang in theWorld Championship final in Rio de Janeiro a year ago.
"He won at the world championships and I won here. He's apowerful competitor, the same as the other medallists," saidMammadli.
Wang revealed he had injured a rib in an earlier contest butrefused to make excuses for his defeat.
"I tried to forget about it but the fight ended so quicklythat I can't say it had any effect on my performance," headded.
On a day of records, Rasul Boquiev of Tajikistan won his country'sfirst medal of any kind in any sport at the Olympic Games as heedged out Belgium's Dirk van Tichelt for bronze.
Leandro Guilheiro of Brazil took the other bronze medal with thethrow 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 inAthens.
But it was in the women's divisions where the shocks consistentlycame, with Quintavalle emerging as the most improbable of winners.
"I've realised my lifetime ambition. My dream came true,"she said. "I've dreamt of this all my life, I really believedI could do it and I did."
Reigning Olympic champion Yvonne Boenisch and world champion KyeSun-Hui were among a host of favourties to crash out early on.
Boenisch over-committed herself in an attack on Quintavalle in thefirst round and was countered with a slick foot-sweep (kosoto-gari)for a waza-ari (half point) score.
The favourite and four-time world champion Kye was the next to beshocked as she fell to France's double European champion BarbaraHarel in the second round, bundled over for a waza-ari withte-guruma.
Harel's subsequent defeat to Quintavalle meant Kye, who caused asensation when bursting onto the judo scene at the Atlanta Olympicsin 1996 and beating hot favourite Ryoko Tani (then Tamura) of Japanin the -48kg final, would not even have a second chance of a medalin the repechage round.
If that wasn't enough, 2001 world champion Yurisleydis Lupetey ofCuba was knocked out by Nesria Jelassi of Tunisia thanks to ashocking refereeing error.
Lupetey attacked her opponent with uchi-mata (inner leg throw) andplanted her firmly on her back before Jelassi turned the momentumand rolled Lupetey onto her back.
Incredibly the referee gave the ippon (full point) score toJelassi, a rank outsider who then lost to Australian veteran MariaPekli.
Pekli, a bronze medallist in Sydney eight years ago, missed out onanother bronze as she lost to Brazil's Ketleyn Quadros whileChina's Xu Yan completed the most remarkable of podiums as shedefeated Harel for the second bronze.
Quadros became the first Brazilian woman to win an individualOlympics medal.