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Chinese Xian retains her Olympic gold, Uchishiba wins Japan's first judo title
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Chinese mama judoka Xian Dongmei on Sunday won women's 52kg class to become the first Chinese Olympic gold medalist who successfully defended the champion, followed by Masato Uchishiba's first gold for Japan in men's 66kg.

With the second gold medal in women's light-weight class, Xian, 33, has become the first Chinese Olympian who retains a title and also the first female champion who has given birth to a child.

Xian stunned Kum Ae An from DPR Korea by yuko in the final.

After a bye in her first bout, Xian performmed three ippon matches in straight in which she firstly beat Spanish Ana Carrascosa with just 1 minute and 19 seconds.

Meeting world champion silver medalist Telma Monteiro of Portugal in the next, Xian conceded an early yuko but rallied to tie waves of attacks. Leading another koka advantage with 45 seconds left in the five-minute bout, she shoulder threw the Portuguese to the mat with a decision of waza-ari by the referee who soon rectified to gesture an ippon victory.

"One of the reason for my return is that the Olympic Games will be held in my own country for the first time, that really motivated me," said Xian who has taken on her judogi once again since May 2007 when summoned by the national team.

Xian, who had received two-year training for Chinese wrestling before she turned to judo at 15, told that she had used a special technique learned from wrestling to defeat her opponents in the competition, saying that the most thing she want to do after the match is to have a good rest.

Soraya Haddad from Algeria oustered Sholpan Kaliyeva from Kazakhstan with a waza-ari to grab a bronze medal.

Japan's 19-year-old Nakamura, suffered a koka loss to Kum Ae An at semifinal, made a struggling way to the final after a gold-score game and later ipponed South Korean Kyung Ok Kim for another bronze medal of the star-studded Japanese judo squad.

Defending champion Masato Uchishiba won the title of the men's 66kg class, giving the first long-waited gold to the Japanese judo squad on the second day of judo competition.

Uchishiba, 30, scored an ippon by a shoulder throw within 68 seconds in the final on Benjamin Darbelet of France.

The Japanese judoka who won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 66kg-class in Athens said it had been a long time for him to win a new international title after the second place in the 2005 world championships and fifth of the Asian competition in 2008.

Benjamin Darbelet, however, said he felt tired and slow-moving in the preliminary bouts and felt the best condition in the final during which he hurt his neck.

"I am always confident of Japanese judo and my success today will send a message to the world that Japan is still strong in judo." he said, adding that he had trained in France and studied his French rival in many aspects not only in judo.

Cuba's Yordanis Arencibia defeated repechage winner Russia's Alim Gadanov to receive a bronze medal after the Cuban was ousted by Uchishiba by two waza-ari (equals to ippon) in the semifinal.

Chol Min Pak from Democratic People's Republic of Korea gained another bronze medal from Mirali Sharipov, Uzbekistan, after he lost to the French judoka Darbelet.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2008)

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