Olympics | Chinese judoka Ma takes bronze in women's 78kg

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China celebrates after defeating Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li An)

PARIS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's two-time Olympic judoka Ma Zhenzhao took bronze in the women's 78kg category at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, earning the country's first Olympic judo medal since Rio 2016.

The gold medal went to top-ranked Alice Bellandi of Italy, while Israel's Inbar Lanir grabbed the silver medal.

"Honestly, I can't describe it, I'm still a little bit speechless. I don't really understand if this is real or if I'm still dreaming. I've dreamed of this every single night. Today was just a perfect day. There was a lot of work, a lot of sweat and a lot of tears, joy, everything," said Bellandi.

"It was kind of weird to lose the fight but still finish with the silver medal. It's quite crazy," said Lanir, who won Israel's second medal in Paris. "Building up for this competition, it was the last 18 years of my training (in) judo. I was here to have fun, to enjoy my judo, to enjoy this experience."

Madeleine Malonga of France was eliminated in the round of 16, losing to world No. 13 Patricia Sampaio of Portugal, who later overwhelmed world No. 5 Ma in the quarterfinal.

Asiad champion Ma, 26, placed 17th at Tokyo 2020, defeated Ukraine's Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko in a repechage contest and went on to beat world No. 2 Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany in the bronze medal match with a waza-ari, sharing the medal with Sampaio.

"I chose to be more determined and believed in myself that I could win. After losing the second match, I went all out for the bronze medal. I was delighted to live up to everyone's expectations. I tried my best," said Ma.

The men's 100kg final saw Georgia's Ilia Sulamanidze score a waza-ari within 53 seconds, but ultimately lost due to a Shido penalty for grip avoidance, surrendering the gold medal to Azerbaijan's Zelym Kotsoiev.

It marked Azerbaijan's second judo gold in Paris. Israel's Peter Paltchik and Uzbekistan's Muzaffarbek Turoboyev shared third place. 

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China competes against Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li An)

Bronze medalist Ma Zhenzhao reacts during the victory of the judo women -78kg at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li An)

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China competes against Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China is seen before the match against Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China celebrates after defeating Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China takes selfies with referee Zhang Guangyue from China after defeating Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Li An)

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China celebrate after defeating Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

Ma Zhenzhao (white) of China competes against Anna-Maria Wagner of Germany at the judo women -78kg contest for bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

Gold medalist Alice Bellandi (2nd L) of Italy, silver medalist Inbar Lanir (1st L) of Israel, bronze medalists Ma Zhenzhao (3rd L) of China and Patricia Sampaio of Portugal attend the victory of the judo women -78kg at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)