Following a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals, Rafael Silva roared back to make it onto the medal podium at the 2012 Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old Brazilian judoka won the bronze medal in the men’s judo over-100kg class at the London Games by beating South Korea’s Kim Sung-Min on Friday.
Silva lost in the quarterfinals to Russia’s Alexader Mikhaylin but came back to win his next two fights against the Hungarian Barna Bor and Kim to earn his place on the podium.
Silva dominated the entire match against the passive South Korean, who did no more than defend himself until the judges handed him a penalty – his second – which meant a yuko score for Silva and the victory.
In his only loss at the London Games, Silva started out in command of the fight against the Russian, but as the minutes passed physical exhaustion began to show and he eventually lost control of the match.
After both the regulation five minutes and the three overtime minutes ended in a tie, the judges unanimously decided that Mikhaylin was the judoka who merited a place in the semi-finals.
Silva’s bronze medal performance makes him the fourth Brazilian to win a medal in Olympic judo at the London Games, following medals by his fellow teammates Sarah Menezes, Felipe Kitadai and Mayra Aguiar.
