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.
Written by
Sian Cowper
Sian Cowper
