By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Beijing Olympic silver medallist Wang Ki-chun of South Korea claimed the top podium at the International Judo Federation (IJF) Grand Slam in Paris, Saturday.
Wang smashed four of his five contenders by ippon in the men's 73-kilogram event.
The 20-year-old threw his first two opponents, Ismail Serhat Kambur of Turkey and Madi Kuryumbayev of Kazakhstan, over his shoulder.
In the third round, Yasuhiro Awano of Japan tried to throw Wang over his shoulder, but the Korean reversed his move to grab an ippon victory in the last 34 seconds.
Wang then met Yordanis Arencibia of Cuba in the final after beating Brazilian Gilles Bonhomme in the semifinal.
Though the Cuban defended well, Wang finished the game through a golden throw, taking just three minutes and eight seconds to claim gold.
Elnur Mammadli of Azerbaijen, who grabbed the gold medal at the Summer Olympics last year by beating an injured Wang, was not at the championships.
In other events, Choi Gwang-heon and An Jeong-hwan took bronze medals in the men's 60-kilogram and 66-kilogram events, respectively. Kim Kyung-ok also snatched bronze in the women's 52-kilogram match.
On the first day, Korea was placed third in the tournament, with one gold and three bronze medals. Japan was on top with three gold medals in seven events, followed by France with one gold, four silver and three bronze medals.