Kim, Emane claim second world titles

South Korea and France shared the honours on the third day of the Judo World Championships on Thursday as Kim Jae-Bum and Gevrise Emane each won their second world title. World number one Kim retained his under-81kg crown as he beat rank outsider Srdjan Mrvaljevic of Montenegro in the final. Emane claimed a second title in a second weight category as she added under-63kg honours to the under-70kg gold she won in Rio de Janeiro in 2007. Kim didn't always have things his own way but by the end had proved he will be the man to beat at the Olympic Games in London next year. His first major test came in the last 16 when he faced Olympic champion Ole Bischof of Germany. But the Korean's gripping was too strong and using his deft footwork he was quicker to the attack, forcing a number of passivity penalties against Bischof, who could find no answer. Kim threw Russia's Ivan Nofontov with a foot sweep (kouchi-gari) for a half point waza-ari score to reach the last four where he faced exciting French junior world champion Loic Petrie, who had enthralled the home fans all day with his relentless attacking. Petrie had given warning of his potential in the third round when he sneaked past former world champion Guillaume Elmont of the Netherlands. But in the semis Kim proved just a little too good and scored a decisive waza-ari with an inner leg throw (uchi-mata). On the other side of the draw world number two Leandro Guilheiro of Brazil was in subdued and  unspectacular form but ominously reached the semi-finals anyway. However, the surprise of the day Mrvaljevic took his run all the way to the final as he threw the Brazilian for  waza-ari with a foot sweep. That sparked Guilheiro into life but although he put up three minor scores on the board he couldn't overturn his deficit. Mrvaljevic couldn't cap a dream day, though, as Kim pinned him for a waza-ari. But he did at least keep the drama going to the very end of the five-minute bout by escaping from the hold just after the 20-second mark, denying Kim a maximum ippon, which he would have had by holding on for 25 seconds. Guilheiro finally found his form in the bronze medal clash as he scored his first ippon of the day with a seoi-nage to beat Elkhan Rajabli of Azerbaijan. Petrie's worlds finished in disappointment as his inexperience finally told when he was armlocked by Moldova's Sergiu Toma after switching off for a split second on the ground despite having instigated an attack. Emane deposed Japan's Yoshie Ueno as world champion in a tight final that went to the judges' flags. All three put up the blue flag denoting Emane's blue suit and she gave the hosts their first gold of the competition. In so doing she also helped end Japan's total domination of the early stages of the competition. They had taken five out of the first six gold medals before managing only a single silver on Thursday. "That's huge, it's wonderful, I couldn't believe it. I'm just so happy," said Emane. "That fight against Ueno was tough. I knew I couldn't afford to give an inch and I didn't. "I had nothing left to say, all I could do was cry. To win in Paris is amazing." Emane beat twice former European champion Elisabeth Willeboordse in the semi-finals with a minor yuko score from her favourite two-sleeved dropping hip technique (sode-tsuri-komi-goshi). Ueno reach the title decider after she pinned another former European champion Urska Zolnir of Slovenia. Zolnir smashed Cuba's Mericet Espinosa with a huge pick-up (te-guruma) to take bronze alongside Anicka van Emden who beat Willeboordse in a battle of the Netherlands.