China's Li grabs judo gold at Paralympics

Li Liqing (top) of China competes with Carmen Brussig of German during the Women's Judo 48KG gold medal contest of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sept 8, 2016. Li Liqing won the gold. [Photo/Xinhua]

RIO DE JANEIRO - China's Li Liqing won the women's judo -48kg title at the Rio Paralympics by defeating Germany's defending Carmen Brussig by ippon on Thursday.

Li, 23, shed tears of joy after securing her first Paralympic Games gold medal.

"It means so much to me," said Li, who has visual impairment. "I have been with my coach Zhang Guifu for seven years. He is like a father to me. That is why it was so emotional. He taught me everything. I owe this gold medal to him."

"[Today] was very exhausting. I thought I could win, I was confident, but the result was very close."

Brussig said: "It was a very hard competition, harder than the world championships, even harder than London 2012. It's fair to get the silver medal. It was a very tough match, but I'm happy with what I've got."