Japan's Uchishiba defends Olympic title
By Ian Ransom
BEIJING (Reuters) - Masato Uchishiba joined Japan's pantheon of judo greats, defeating Benjamin Darbelet of France to defend his Athens title in the final of the men's 66-kg category in Beijing on Sunday.
The wily 30-year-old veteran charged out to meet surprise finalist Darbelet, determined to dictate the pace of the bout as he had with all previous vanquished opponents.
In the end, he needed less than a minute and a half to subdue the Frenchman, dragging him to the tatami with his legs before pinning him to the mat like an attacking bulldog.
A stunned Darbelet, appearing groggy after his head crashed against the mat, could only pat Uchishiba's side to indicate submission and gift the Japanese champion his easiest victory in the competition.
"I really don't remember how I won against him," Uchishiba told reporters.
"I would really like to go home and watch the video to remember."
After a dour wrestle with Uzbekistan's Mirali Sharipov, North Korea's Pak Chol-min rolled his opponent on his back to score a late waza ari and win bronze.
Cuba's Yordanis Arencibia defeated Russia's Alim Gadanov in the other bronze medal decider.
(Editing by Alison Williams)
