Luigi Busa takes Olympic gold in men's kumite -75kg

Italy's Luigi Busa has become the Olympic gold medallist in the men's kumite -75kg after beating Azerbaijan's Rafael Aghayev in a tight bout at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

It was set to be a kumite bout for the ages as five-time world champion Aghayev and -75kg world no.1 Busa battled it out for gold.

Both karateka's know each other well, having both faced each other on numerous occasions including at World Championships - most famously Busa's only world title in the -75kg came in a win against Aghayev - as well as European Championships.

With a minute to go, Busa had a one-point advantage over his opponent before the Italian managed a powerful yet controlled hit on Aghayev's face sending him to the sideline to be checked by the medics.

As the bout resumed the two karateka's gave everything they had but Busa's yuko would be the only difference as he secured gold in a 1-0 victory.

"I'm very happy to have won this gold medal and I'm going to be celebrating with all my family and the whole team behind me," Busa said. "I would like to continue this wonderful journey I am on because karate is fantastic. It's a beautiful sport and we've seen that over the last few days.

"It's been wonderful to win this medal and it's fantastic to leave with an Olympic medal."

Hungary's Karoly Gabor Harspataki and Ukraine's Stanislav Horuna were the bronze medallist.