Russia's Tagir Khaibulaev delighted his president and judo black-belt Vladimir Putin Thursday as he beat Mongolian defending champion Tuvshinbayar Naidan to win the Olympic under-100kg title. Putin, seated among the crowd, raised his arms in celebration and was among the first to congratulate Khaibulaev after he claimed Russia's third judo gold with an unstoppable seoi-nage (shoulder throw).
Dutchman Henk Grol and German Dimitri Peters won the two bronze medals, beating Uzbek Ramziddin Sayidov and Hwang Hee-Tae of South Korea respectively. Khaibulaev added the Olympic crown to the world title he won last year, becoming only the second reigning world champion to add Olympic gold in this competition. He also became the second fighter from Dagestan to win a judo gold at this Games following Mansou Isaev in the under-73kg category three days ago. After coming off the mat, Khaibulaev was joined by Putin and his fellow Russian medallists Isaev, Arsen Galstyan (-60kg gold) and Ivan Nifontov (-90kg bronze) for hugs and photos.
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