Brazil won its first gold medal Monday in this Olympics, when judoka Rafaela Silva defeated Sumiya Dorjsuren of Mongolia in the women’s 57 kg.

To celebrate, the 24-year-old judo champion shed tears as she jumped into the exuberant crowd with a Brazilian flag wrapped around her shoulders. “I hope my medal now will open the door for Brazil to win many more medals,” Silva said.

A great emotion for the daughter of the native country of the favelas that rattled the Brazilian public. Silva , who became the country’s first female world champion in judo in 2013, grew up in the country’s largest favela five miles from where the competition took place. Judo has a big following in Brazil, and that enthusiasm followed Silva from one match to the next. Her fans packed the stands chanting “Rafa” and waving green and yellow Brazilian flags.

Before her parents moved a mile away, they all lived in a favela known as the “City of God,” one of the most dangerous in Rio de Janeiro. She and her sister, also a judoka, learned early to defend themselves. According to the media, their parents got them into judo partly to keep them out of trouble.