Russia's Anna Kharitonova claims first sambo gold

Russian Federation's Anna Kharitonova has won the first gold medal in sambo at the European Games in Baku, defeating Nazakat Khalilova this afternoon.

The 30-year-old picked up four hold-down points for a 4-0 win in the women's -52kg category as her Azerbaijani opponent failed to get on the scoreboard.

Beaten semi-finalists Lithuania's Ruta Aksionova and Magdalena Varbanova of Bulgaria each take home a bronze after defeating repechage winners in the third-place matches.

The martial art was developed by the USSR's Soviet Red Army as a means of self defense without weapons in the 1920s.