 London: Eight-time world champion wrestler Hitomi Obara of Japan took her first Olympic medal with gold in the women`s 48 kg freestyle Wednesday, beating Azerbaijan`s Maria Stadnik 3-1 in the final.
Stadnik won bronze in Beijing four years ago but failed to upgrade to gold as Obara fought back from a slow start in a match that was a repeat of last year`s world championship final.
Stadnik won the first round in convincing style 4-0 before Obara scraped the second 1-0 and sealed her victory with a 2-0 win in the third round.
Canada`s Carol Huynh and US wrestler Clarissa Chun won bronze.
Huynh, the defending Olympic champion, won 3-0 on points against Senegal`s Isabelle Sambou, who was looking to win her country`s first medal since 1988.
Chun, the 2008 world champion, took her first Olympic medal by beating Ukraine`s Irina Merleni, who won gold in Athens in 2004 and bronze in Beijing four years later.
IANS
First Published: Thursday, August 9, 2012, 13:58
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