Rafaela Silva is a hometown hearo…

The 24-year-old Brazilian judoka earned the host country’s first gold medal of the 2016 Rio Games.

Silva, the country’s first female world champion in judo, won the 57-kilogram division of the Japanese martial art on Monday as the crowd chanted “Rafa” and waved Brazilian flags.

Silva beat Sumiya Dorjsuren of Mongolia after two days of disappointment on the mat for Brazil.

She also settled an old Olympic score. At the 2012 London Games, Silva was disqualified for an illegal leg grab during a fight against Hedvig Karakas of Hungary. This time, it was Silva who advanced from their quarterfinal match.

Silva, who is from Brazil’s largest favela and trained at a judo dojo founded by former Olympic bronze medalist Flavio Canto, was in top form for much of the day. Her first match lasted only 46 seconds.

“Everybody here knows Rafaela’s history,” said Eduardo Colli, a Brazilian fan watching the final in the stands. “This is more than just a medal, it’s a victory for poor people. It’s hope for all of them.”

The women’s bronze medals went to Kaori Matsumoto of Japan — the defending Olympic champion — and Telma Monteiro of Portugal.

With its strong martial arts culture — including many shared techniques between Brazilian jiu jitsu, mixed martial arts and judo — Brazil had been expected to do well early in the judo competition.

But defending Olympic champion Sarah Menezes narrowly lost out on a bronze on Saturday in the 48-kilogram category, and so did Erika Miranda at 52 kilograms on Sunday.