Tomoko Fukumi captured the women's 48-kilogram gold medal on her debut at the world judo championships Wednesday.
Fukumi, representing Japan in the weight class in the absence of seven-time world champion Ryoko Tani, now pregnant with her second child, scored an "ippon" victory over Olympic champion Alina Dumitru of Romania in the semifinals.
The 24-year-old executed a "kosotogari" leg trip against the Romanian 3 minutes, 12 seconds into the match.
In the final, Fukumi earned a "wazaari" point for a "seoinage" shoulder throw and held on to beat Spain's Oriana Blanco.
"I tried to win the title no matter what. I had strong determination," Fukumi said. "I know there are things I still need to work on, but it feels great to win gold and stand on top of the podium."
In men's action, Hiroaki Hiraoka claimed the men's 60-kg silver medal.
Georgiy Zantaraya of Ukraine used kosotogari against Hiraoka for ippon 1 minute, 9 seconds into the final.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic 66-kg gold medalist Masato Uchishiba suffered a third-round exit.
Uzbekistan's Mirali Sharipov upset the 31-year-old with a "sumigaeshi" corner reversal throw.