Khaibulaev gives Russia judo gold as Putin applauds

Tagir Khaibulaev gave Russia a gold medal with President Vladimir Putin in attendance Thursday.

Khaibulaev, the 2011 world champion, beat reigning Olympic champion Naidan Tuvshinbayar of Mongolia in the final by ippon before posing for photos with Putin.

Germany’s Dimitri Peters and Dutch judoka Henk Grol won bronze.

Russian-born Peters defeated Uzbekistan’s Ramziddin Sayidov by ippon for bronze, while Grol, a bronze medalist in Beijing four years ago, beat South Korea’s Hwang Hee-Tae by waza-ari.

First published in RIA Novosti.

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