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Underdog Dumitru grabs surprise gold over favourite
Romania's Alina Dumitru won the first gold medal in the Olympic judo competition on Saturday, stunning Japanese double gold medallist Ryoko Tani in the 48-kilogram class semifinal and then flipping Cuba's Yanet Bermoy to the mat in the final.
- AP
- Published: 00:02 August 10, 2008
Beijing: Romania's Alina Dumitru won the first gold medal in the Olympic judo competition on Saturday, stunning Japanese double gold medallist Ryoko Tani in the 48-kilogram class semifinal and then flipping Cuba's Yanet Bermoy to the mat in the final.
"My Japanese opponent is one of the greatest judo champions of all time," said Dumitru, who said she nearly quit four years ago while toiling under Tani's shadow. "I want to congratulate her."
Dumitru ousted Tani - a seven-time world champion who hasn't lost a major international competition since Atlanta in 1996 - in a semifinal decided on penalties.
Dumitru then flipped Cuba's Yanet Bermoy to the mat in the final to win the 48-kilogram division gold, judo's first of the Games.
South Korea's Choi Min-ho, who won bronze in Athens, threw all of his opponents to win the men's 60-kilogram division.
Tani saw her hopes of a third-straight gold evaporate when judges awarded penalties to Dumitru after both failed to show much aggression.
Looking stunned, Tani fought desperately after the final penalty call, but with only seconds left had no time to mount an attack.
She defeated Russia's Lyudmila Bogdanova for bronze.
Chasing a third
An underdog, Choi completely dominated his competition and defeated Paischer, who is ranked No 1 in the world, just seconds into their final match.
But Tani, a seven-time world champion, was the surprise of the day. Though she won her bronze decisively - throwing the tall Russian to the mat with 2 minutes, 33 seconds left in the five-minute bout - she had to go the distance with Sayaka Matsumoto of the US in her first bout, cautiously dominating the match and winning on points.
China's Wu Shugen - and a roaring partisan crowd - was next. The two were tied on points halfway through, and though Tani turned up the pressure in the second half she failed to score, forcing the match into overtime. She came through with a throw after 29 seconds.
But in the semifinal, Tani and Dumitru, who was fifth in Athens but has won four consecutive European titles, took cautions for being too defensive, then Dumitru went ahead on another penalty call.
Tani was battling to become the first woman to win three consecutive judo golds. Compatriot Tadahiro Nomura won three golds in men's, but didn't make the team this year because of an injury.
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