Published : Aug. 2, 2012 - 02:38
Judoka Song Dae-nam won gold in the men's under-90kg category Wednesday at the London Olympics.
At ExCeL Arena, the 15th-ranked Song beat Cuba's Asley Gonzalez, No. 4 in the world, for his first Olympic title. It was South Korea's fifth gold medal in London and the second of the day, after shooter Kim Jang-mi captured the women's 25-meter pistol gold medal.
Judoka Song Dae-nam celebrates winning gold in the men's under-90kg category Wednesday at the London Olympics. (London Olympic Joint Press Corps)
Song earned the decisive waza-ari (half-point) with kouchi-gari, or foot sweep, just 11 seconds into the sudden death extra period called golden score. Song's was the country's second judo title in as many days, after Kim Jae-bum's gold in the men's under-81㎏.
In the defensive final, Song and Gonzalez each received a shido, or a penalty, for their 'non-combativity.' Chung Hoon, Song's head coach, was ejected for arguing during the bout, but Song held his ground and used quick footwork to down the Cuban for the win.
Kim beats his opponent Asley Gonzalez of Cuba (right). (London Olympic Joint Press Corps)
En route to the final, Song knocked off world No. 1 Masashi Nishiyama of Japan in the quarters.
This was the first Olympics for the 33-year-old Song, who'd moved up a weight class from under-81㎏ to under-90㎏ in March last year after recovering from a career-threatening knee injury in late 2010.
"At the age of 33, winning a gold medal is amazing," the emotional Song said. "I figured this would be my last Olympics. I tried my hardest and I'm glad I didn't disappoint anyone."
(Yonhap News)