Kelmendi brings ‘poor’ Kosovo gold at first GamesRIO DE JANEIRO: Majlinda Kelmendi won Kosovo’s first ever Olympic gold medal at its maiden Games on Sunday (Monday in Manila) and the judoka will be thanked for a very long time for helping put her country’s name on the international map. “I have always wanted to show the world that Kosovo is not just a country that has gone through war,” she said with the Kosovo flag draped around her shoulders. The 25-year-old sank to her knees in tears after beating Italy’s Odette Giuffrida by yuko in the women’s 52kg final. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 — whose forces fought to stop breakaway rebels in 1998-99 — and has since had its own scrap for recognition.

Source: Manila Times August 08, 2016 13:07 UTC