Host nation claims two judo medals
Luka Mkheidze and Shirine Boukli have won France’s first two medals of the Paris Olympics in judo, with Mkheidze claiming silver and Boukli winning bronze in the men’s 60kg division.
Mkheidze lost 1-0 to Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan in the final, disappointing a raucous crowd at Champ-de-Mars Arena.
The No. 3-seeded Mkheidze made an impressive rally through the bracket in the lightest men’s weight class, but he couldn’t score against Smetov, who became the first Kazakh gold medal-winning judoka after taking home silver and bronze from the two previous Olympics.
About 30 minutes before Mkheidze’s loss, Boukli claimed France’s first medal of its home Olympics with a victory over Spain’s Laura Martinez in the bronze-medal match.
The powerful French judo team – which includes Olympic cauldron-lighting heavyweight Teddy Riner – is off to a strong start.
“It was magical, it was incredible,” Boukli said. “It is a great crowd that spreads positive vibes. It makes me want to roll over anything. I feel like this is historic.”
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