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Mugger picks on blind judo champ
A German mugger who picked on a blind man had a shock when his 'victim' turned out to be a world judo champ.
Michael Esser, 33, a world champion last year in martial arts for the visually impaired, ended up pummelling his 17-year-old attacker into submission.
Mr Esser had just bought a packet of cigarettes outside the railway station in Marburg when the skinheaded, jobless attacker demanded them.
"Give me those, Stevie," he said in what police said was a reference to blind singer Stevie Wonder.
He lunged for the cigarettes and hit the man in the face. The blind man then seized his arm, shoved it behind his back and kneed him in the back of his legs.
Then he twisted him around and flung him face-first on to the pavement, pinning him to the ground with his body.
"The blind Judoka used some expert moves to wrestle the robber to the ground and pinned him down while he shouted for help," Marburg police said in a statement.
The champion had to be treated for a bloody nose following the incident but he said: "I may be blind but I am fit. I hope he thinks twice before he picks on people again.
"I didn't bother to go to the hospital because I was off to meet some mates to listen to a football match. At least I still had my smokes to enjoy!"
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