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BEIJING : Five-time world champion Saori Yoshida of Japan retained her Olympic women's wrestling 55kg title by overwhelming Xu Li of China in the final on Saturday.
Carol Huynh won the 48kg title to lift Canada's first gold medal at these Games, forcing Japan's world champion Chiharu Icho to settle for her second straight Olympic silver.
Japan won two golds, one silver and a bronze at the Athens Games four years ago when women's wrestling made its Olympic debut.
The same foursome are in Beijing, with Icho's younger sister and Olympic 63kg champion Kaori and 72kg bronze medallist Kyoko Hamaguchi set to compete on Sunday, the find day of the four-event women's competition.
Yoshida, 25, overwhelmed the 18-year-old Chinese from the start taking the first period 2-0 and pressed her for the fall after scoring a two-point takedown in the second.
Athens silver medallist Tonya Verbeek took a second medal for Canada in the 55kg, winning a bronze.
The other bronze went to Colombia's Jackeline Renteria.
Huynh, fifth at the world championships last year, took the two periods with a 6-1 points advantage.
The 48kg bronze medals went to Athens champion Irini Merleni of Ukraine and Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijian.
The 27-year-old Huynh, whose Vietnamese mother and Chinese-born father had emigrated to Canada as refugees, took the first period 4-0 with a takedown and a point from Icho's move outside the contest area.
Icho was forced out of the ring twice in the second, and although she battled back to score a point but could not maintain the momentum. - AFP/ms
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