BEIJING // Elnur Mammadli of Azerbaijan needed only 13 seconds to beat teenage world champion Wang Ki-chun of South Korea to win the men's 73kg category and emerge as his country's first Olympic judo champion. Mammadli dived straight for Wang's legs, grabbing him firmly and barrelling the slightly built Korean into the mat for an ippon score and automatic victory. The win gave Azerbaijan their first judoka medal, left a stunned Wang lying on the floor and sent the sizeable contingent of Azerbaijani fans at the venue into raptures.
It also gave Mammadli sweet revenge for his world championship loss to Wang in the final in Rio last year. Tajikistan's Rasul Boqiev won bronze after beating Dirk van Tichelet of Belgium in a closely fought battle. *Reuters
