Ozkan enjoys Olympic revenge

Ozkan beats French rival Larbi Benboudaoud

Chechen-born Huseyin Ozkan gave Turkey its first Olympic judo gold medal on Sunday, and Legna Verdecia underlined the depth of the Cuban challenge, as Japan's gold hunt in their own sport stalled in Sydney.

Ozkan, said his under-66kg featherweight win over French world champion Larbi Benboudaoud would be celebrated not only in Turkey but also in Chechnya which he left in 1993.

"My family still lives in Chechenya and I am also famous there," the 28-year-old Ozkan said.

"My friends and my family are waiting for the news. But there is no television broadcasting in Chechenya. When they hear about this, they will be very happy."

In Birmingham, the Frenchman caught me first and could execute his technique. Now we are even at 1-1

  Huseyin Ozkan

Ozkan, who lost to Benboudaoud in the world championship final last October, was slapped with a warning early in the final but threw his French opponent at one minute 44 seconds.

Technique

"In Birmingham, the Frenchman caught me first and could execute his technique," Ozkan said. "Now we are even at 1-1."

A disappointed Benboudaould blamed himself for the defeat.

"I made an error," he said. "My mistake was defence at which I am not good. The best defence is attack."

Italian Girolamo Giovinazzo beat Iran's Arash Miresmaeili by a decision to win a featherweight bronze, with the other bronze going to Giorgi Vazagashvili of Georgia who outpointed European champion Patrick van Kalken of the Nertherlands.

En route to the medal round Van Kalken beat Japan's Yukimasa Nakamura, a former world champion and Atlanta silver medallist, by ippon in the closing seconds of their contest.

My mistake was defence at which I am not good. The best defence is attack

  Larbi Benboudaoud

Japan's hopes of building on their two-gold haul on the first day of the judo competion, were further upset by Verdecia who floored Japanese world champion and her arch-rival Noriko Narazaki in the women's under-52kg final.

Payback

It was payback time for the 27-year-old Cuban who lost to Narazaki by a penalty in the world championship final in Birmingham last October.

Narazaki, unlucky not to succeed with an almost perfect throw 50 seconds into the contest, was dragged down by 1997 world champion Verdecia for ippon knockout halfway through the four-minute final.

Verdecia had previously beaten Narazaki in the third round of the Atlanta Olympics four years ago when both went through the repechage rounds to win bronze medals.

The first women's 52kg bronze medals went to North Korean Kye Sun-Hui, up a division since taking the under-48kg bronze medal at Atlanta, who dumped Romanian Iona Maria Dinea in the consolation final.

The second bronze went to China's Liu Yuxiang who immobilised Deborah Gravenstijn of the Netherlands.