The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic GamesAugust 8-24 2008
(BEIJING, August 9) -- Romania's Alina Alexandra Dumitru claimed the first gold of the Beijing Olypmic Judo competitions by defeating Yanet Bermoy of Cuba in the Women's -48kg, while Choi Min-ho from the Republic of Korea claimed gold in the Men's -60 kg at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium on August 9.
Women's -48kg
Romania's Alina Alexandra Dumitru, ranked No.1 in the world, defeated Yanet Bermoy of Cuba with an ippon in 1:20 in the gold medal contest. She reached the final by defeating Athens Olympic champion Tani Ryoko of Japan in the semifinal. Dumitru dominated the extra-lightweight category in Europe with five consecutive European Championships between 2004 and 2008. She also won bronze medals at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships.
In the first bronze medal match, Paula Belen Pareto of Argentina beat Pak Ok-song of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with a waza-ari. Belen Pareto was charged with a shido penalty earlier in the match but she scored a waza-ari in the final minute for the victory. The referee first gave the waza-ari to Pak but changed the ruling after consultation and awarded it to Belen Pareto.
Though Tani Ryoko fell short of her third consecutive Olympic gold medal, her bronze medal finish is a worthy addition to her storied career. The Japanese heroine has reached the podium in five consecutive Olympic Games dating back to 1992, when she won silver in Barcelona.
Men's -60kg
Choi Min-ho from the Republic of Korea won the second Judo gold of the day by defeating World No.1 Ludwig Paischer of Austria with an ippon in 2:14. In the semifinal, Choi needed just four seconds to beat Dutch judoka Ruben Houkes with an ippon. Choi finished third at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the 2007 Asian Championships in Kuwait City and the 2007 World Championships.
Rishod Sobirov of Uzbekistan, the runner-up of the 2007 Asian Championships, threw France's Dimitri Dragin for a koka to win the first of two bronze medals in the event. Sobirov reached the bronze medal match by defeating Canada's Will Frazer.
In the second bronze medal match, Ruben Houkes of the Netherlands defeated Gal Yekutiel of Israel with an ippon. Houkes was leading by a yuko and two kokas before clinching victory with an ippon in the final minute. Houkes is currently ranked second in the world. He was world champion in 2007 and won medals at the 2005, 2006 and 2008 European Judo Championships.
