Mongolia earns first-ever gold medal

Дэлхийн спортын тэргүүлэгч мэдээллийн ESPN дээр Монголы алтын маань тухай өгүүлж байна.

BEIJING -- Mongolia has won its first Olympic gold medal ever with Tuvshinbayar Naidan's victory over Kazakhstan's Askhat Zhitkeyev in men's 100-kilogram judo. Naidan, who upset defending Olympic champion Keiji Suzuki of Japan in his opening bout, scored a waza ari with just under two minutes remaining, then added on two yuko to seal the victory Thursday in Beijing.

Azerbaijan's Movlud Miraliyev took bronze by scoring a waza ari over Poland's Przemyslaw Matyjaszek. The second bronze went to Henk Grol of the Netherlands, who defeated Georgia's Levan Zhorzholiani.

Naidan, 24, who switched to judo in 2000, used a traditional Mongolian wrestling technique to humble Suzuki in their opening bout, and then trounced Zhitkeyev in the final.
"There are no words that can describe my happiness," Naidan said. "After winning this gold my first thought is to thank my parents, my coach and all the people who have supported me in the past."

While not lacking in skill or technique, the burly Mongolian's success was largely built on brute strength and determination. After arrogantly throwing Suzuki off the tatami for ippon and automatic victory, Naidan bullied, barged and bruised his way to the final where a hapless Zhitkeyev was the victim of three scoring throws.

Mongolia, wedged between Russia and China, has a population of only about 3 million. It is probably best known as the home of 13th century warrior Genghis Khan.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.