Mansur Isaev of Russia won a gold medal in Olympic judo Monday in the men's 73-kilogram category.

Isaev defeated the current world champion, Riki Nakaya of Japan, in a close-fought final in which both competitors struggled to pin each other.

The 25-year-old Isaev came in seventh at the world championships last year.

Earlier in the day, Isaev beat world No. 1 Wang Ki-chun in the semifinals.

Bronze medals were won by Nyam-Ochir Sainjargal of Mongolia and Ugo Legrand of France.