Asley Gonzalez Wins Silver Medal in Judo for Cuba

HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban judoka Asley Gonzalez won the silver medal on Wednesday in the 90 kilogram weight class of the 2012 London Olympics, finally falling to South Korea’s Dae-Nam Song in the finals.

The new Olympic silver medalist admitted to the Prensa Latina news agency that though she achieved a positive outcome, she felt that she had been close to winning the title when she fought against the South Korean.

“I know that for over 30 years, Cuban male judo hasn’t made it to the finals, so I’m content – but not satisfied. I wanted to make my people happier,” said the 22-year-old.

Although the match was fairly even, Gonzalez lost by a waza-ari in the “Golden Rule,” an overtime period in which she was caught by surprise with a ko-uchi-gari.

The bronze medals at the event were won by Greece’s Ilias Iliadis and the Japanese athlete Masashi Nishiyama.