Japan's Niizoe takes first judo world title / Photo: © AFP
Japan's Niizoe takes first judo world title
Japan's Saki Niizoe won her first individual world title in the -70 kg final at the World Judo Championships on Thursday, as Britain's Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown lost consciousness in a bronze-medal match.
Niizoe beat unseeded Italian Giovanna Scoccimarro in the final to climb two steps on the podium in Doha after taking bronze last year in Tashkent.
Yeats-Brown was caught in a chokehold by Austrian Michaela Polleres, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, and had to be treated on the mat for a few minutes before she managed to get up again to a round of applause.
Luka Maisuradze won the men's -90 kg category in a final between two Georgians both seeking a first world title.
The 25-year-old European champion beat Olympic champion Lasha Bekauri by waza-ari thanks to a surprising sacrifice move in extra time.
(P.Hansen--DTZ)
