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Judo star Majlinfa Kelmendi has won Kosovo’s first ever-Olympic medal by winning the 52kg judo title.
Kelmendi gave Kosovo their first ever Judo world title after the country became a state in its own right in 2008, when she beat Brazilian Erika Miranda at the 2013 World Judo Championships.
The Brazil 2016 Olympics marks the first Olympic and world event where athletes are able to compete for Kosovo for the first time.
In the final, the double world champion and favourite for gold prior to the start of the competition produced a stunning performance to beat Italy’s Odette Giuffrida.
Kelmendi scored an early point in the bout with a Yuko, the least scoring move out of the three possible, which proved to be the match winning score in a tense encounter.
On her way to the title Kelmendi beat third-seeded Misato Nakamura of Japan who is considered a legend of the sport, who eventually won bronze along with Russia’s Natalia Kuziutina.
The 25-year-old was very emotional after she won the medal she desperately craved after missing out on a medal at the Olympics in London in 2012 when she was representing Albania.
The Kosovo flag bearer at the opening ceremony said: “People, especially kids in Kosovo, look at me as a hero. I have just proved to them that even after the war, even that we have survived a war, if they want something they can have it. If they want to be Olympic champions they can be.”
