Sports

Mongolian judo athlete wins first gold medal ever for his country

by Yuliya Talmazan | August 14, 2008 at 09:05 am

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As we are still waiting for Canadian athletes to score some medals and hum “O Canada” on a pedestal in Beijing, other nations are already in double digits as far as their medal tally goes. And, while China, US and Germany are battling it out for the top spots, many “underdog” nations are also making significant strides in their Olympic medal quest. One of these nations is Mongolia. Having made it to the Olympic pedestal fifteen times in the last four decades, Mongolians never got any gold medals...until today that is. Tuvshinbayar Naidan, a 24-year-old judoka, has won a gold medal in men’s 100 kg class, making everyone in Mongolia jubilant and proud.

"I have waited for a long time for this medal. I don't yet understand what happened and what is going on," said Zhitkeyev who was in his third Olympic trip.

"I will contribute my historical success to my coach and parents who have given me a lot of supports," Naidan said. "Every one in Mongolia is celebrating for my gold medal.

Mongolia celebrates First Olympic Gold Medal In Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar people have gone out on the street to celebrate the first Olympic gold medal in its history. Judoist Tuvshinbayar became first in the category under 100 kilo, beating his rival from Kazakhstan 120 to 10. Mongolia is famous for its wrestling both in its native form as well as in the Japanese Sumo competion which has been dominated by Mongolians in recent years. During the match load cheers were heard all over town from the public screenings of the match. Four tv channels had live broadcasting of the event that marks a highlight in Mongolia's Sports history