 Azerbaijan's Elnur Mammadli, blue, celebrates as he beat South Korea's Wang Kichun for the gold medal during the men's 73kg judo lightweight division finals at the Beijing Olympics Monday. / AP-Yonhap |
Staff Reporter
It took Wang Ki-chun countless hours of hard work and practice to qualify for the men's judo 73-kilogram competition at the Beijing Olympics.
It took him only 13 seconds to have his dream of winning a gold medal shattered in the finals.
The 19-year-old South Korean suffered a shocking defeat, when he was thrown to the mat early in his match against Azerbaijan's Elnur Mammadli Monday night at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium.
After the loss, Wang, who was considered a favorite to capture the gold after winning the World Championships in 2007, was left lying on the mat in disbelief.
Mammadli, on the other hand, celebrated after his victory gave Azerbaijan its first Olympic gold medal in judo.
Mammadli made an aggressive move at the start of the match, diving for Wang's legs and powering him to the ground for an ippon 13 second into the first round.
Mammadli's victory avenged a loss against Wang in the finals of last year's World Championships, which were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
jonsanfilippo@koreatimes.co.kr
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