Flyweight (≤58 kilograms), Men

The favorites were the defending champion Chu Mu-Yen of Chinese Taipei, and 2007 World Champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain. But they were both defeated by Yulis Mercedes of the Dominican Republic, the 2007 Pan American Games champion, who made his way to the final, where he met his close friend, Mexico’s Guillermo Pérez, silver medalist at the 2007 Worlds. The final match went to overtime, and after a scoreless overtime, Pérez was awarded the gold medal by superiority, which was the first Mexican gold medal at the Olympics since 1984.

One bronze medal was historic when it went to Afghanistan’s Rohullah Nikpai, the first ever Olympic medal for his country. Nikpai noted, “I hope this will send a message of peace to my country after 30 years of war. I won the medal for my country.”