Shavdatuashvili, An lead judo shocks

Georgia's Lasha Shavdatuashvili and North Korean An Kum-Ae both claimed gold on a day of shocks and a refereeing controversy at the Olympic judo competition on Sunday.

Shavdatuashvili won the men's under-66kg division, less than a year after progressing from the junior ranks to the seniors.

And An went one better than four years ago in Beijing as she added under-52kg gold to the silver already in her trophy cabinet.

But it was a day marked by the failure of the top seeds, as well as a row over Masashi Ebinuma and Cho Jun-Ho's under-66kg quarter-final, which was awarded first to the South Korean, and then to the Japanese world champion.

Cho was awarded a judges decision before the International Judo Federation's Refereeing Commission reminded them about an Ebinuma attack that should have been scored.

The three judges reversed their decision and gave the win to Ebinuma, sparking consternation in the stands. Ebinuma went on to win bronze alongside South Korea's Cho Jun-Ho, who was philosophical about the events.

"Initially I thought I had won but when it was reversed I was a little sad," he said.

"But I had my remaining fights to focus on and I hoped (Ebinuma) would get a good result because he beat me. We both won bronze so I'm happy."

In the under-66kg, three of the top four seeds fell by the wayside before the quarter-finals, leaving Shavdatuashvili to emerge from the debris to claim a brilliant gold medal.

Until six months ago, the 20-year-old had never competed at a senior international tournament but he showed no nerves as he tore into his opposition.

"When fighting I attacked and took risks because I didn't care who my opponents were, whether world champions, European champions or even Olympic champions," he said.

"I wanted to show what's inside me and that's why I was risking everything."

In the final he beat three-time European champion Miklos Ungvari of Hungary with a small score (yuko) from an inner-leg sweep (ouchi-gari).

Before that he had stunned world champion Ebinuma in the semi-finals with a rotating rear throw (ura-nage) for the maximum technical knock-out score, ippon.

Shavdatuashvili became the sixth Georgian to win judo gold, and the third since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union.

"I'm happy to add to Georgia's list of gold medals but of course these don't just belong to judo athletes but to the whole country," he said.

"I wish other athletes would add more gold medals and other medals to our Olympic museum."

The women's competition was not quite so dramatic but did involve similar carnage among the leading contenders.

All four top seeds crashed out before the quarters but the final was still contested between two fighters who had earnt Olympic silver in Beijing four years ago.

An, who was beaten by China's Xian Dongmei in Beijing, triumphed this time against Cuba's Yanet Bermoy, who had reached the final in the under-48kg division in China.

The fight went to a sudden death golden score period with An snatching victory with a yuko from a counter-attack.

It meant she joined illustrious compatriot Kye Sun-Hui as an Olympic gold medallist in judo.

"I'm following in the footsteps of the queen of North Korean judo and I wanted to honour her," said An.

"By winning gold I was able to reward my country for what I have been given by them.

"I learnt from (Kye's) strong spirit and determination and I needed to work hard to return what earned from my country."

France's Priscilla Gneto and Rosalba Forciniti of Italy took the two bronze medals.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korean-wins-womens-judo-under-52kg-155912434.html

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