South Korea's fearless Wang Ki-chun and North Korea's reigning Kye Sun-hui won gold medals at the 25th World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. In the men's under-73 kg class, Wang defeated Elnur Mammadli of Azerbaijan with a morote-gari technique after a hard match that went into overtime at Rio's Olympic Arena. It is South Korea's first gold medal in an individual match since 2003, when Choi Min-ho, Lee Won-hee and Hwang Hee-tae each snagged golds at the World Judo Championships in Osaka.
(Left) South Korea's Wang Ki-Chun smiles after winning the gold medal in the men's under-73 kg class at the World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. /Reuters (Right) North Korea's Kye Sun-hui waves after winning the gold medal in the women's under-57 kg class at the World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. /Newsis
The 19-year-old Wang began training in judo while a fifth-grader in Kyesang Elementary School. He made a name for himself in the national championships in March by beating under-73 kg stars Lee Won-hee and Kim Jae-bum. "I have many weak points, but I will hone my skills much harder for the 2008 Beijing Olympics," Wang told Yonhap News in a telephone interview.
North Korea's Kye Sun-hui grabbed the gold in the women's under-57 kg class by beating Isabel Fernandez of Spain by "ippon" or Judo knockout using the ko-soto-gake technique just a minute and five seconds after the match began.
Kye, 28, now has four world championship titles including the 2001 World Judo Championships in Munich and the World Judo Championships in 2003 and in 2005.