Sunday 14th November, 06:11
GUANGZHOU, China —
GUANGZHOU, China —
Reigning world champion Mika Sugimoto defeated China’s Qin Qian in the women’s over 78-kilogram final to capture Japan’s first judo gold medal at the Asian Games on Saturday.
But the other three Japanese gold hopefuls came up short in their bids with Takamasa Anai (100 kg) and Akari Ogata (78 kg) settling for silver and Daiki Kamikawa (over 100 kg) taking bronze at Huagong Gymnasium.
Sugimoto prevailed on a ‘‘hantei’’ decision to make it three wins out of three over Qin, having beaten her Chinese opponent in the over 78 final and the open weight class at the world championships in Tokyo in September.
‘‘I knew she would study my moves since I fought her twice at the worlds,’’ said Sugimoto, who was fighting amid enthusiastic local cheers of ‘‘Chongguoren, jiayou’’ or ‘‘Go, the people of China,’‘.
‘‘I thought if I lose here, the value of winning the world title will be halved,’’ Sugimoto said. ‘’(But) I’m not satisfied with how I fought today at all. I couldn’t produce my style of judo.’‘
It was a shock defeat for world gold medalist Anai, who lost at the hands of Hwang Hee Tae of South Korea who deployed an ippon throw in the final. He had cruised through his first three matches, all with ippon wins.
‘‘I prepared myself mentally (for the Asian Games) since the world championships,’’ Anai said. ‘‘It’s frustrating that I lost but it is a good learning experience for the London Olympics.’‘
World bronze medalist Ogata was thrown over by Jeong Gyeong Mi of South Korea, winner over Beijing gold medalist Yang Ziuli of China, in the final.
‘‘I am really frustrated at myself. If I can’t prevail in Asia, I have no chance at the Olympics, ‘’ Ogata said.
World champion Kamikawa, having lost to Kim Soo Whan of South Korea in the semifinal, pinned Shavkat Igbolov of Tajikistan in the bronze medal match after scoring a ‘‘wazaari.’‘
‘‘I’m humiliated,’’ Kamikawa said. ‘‘Japanese judo had aimed for just gold and I couldn’t live up to the expectations.’’
But the other three Japanese gold hopefuls came up short in their bids with Takamasa Anai (100 kg) and Akari Ogata (78 kg) settling for silver and Daiki Kamikawa (over 100 kg) taking bronze at Huagong Gymnasium.
Sugimoto prevailed on a ‘‘hantei’’ decision to make it three wins out of three over Qin, having beaten her Chinese opponent in the over 78 final and the open weight class at the world championships in Tokyo in September.
‘‘I knew she would study my moves since I fought her twice at the worlds,’’ said Sugimoto, who was fighting amid enthusiastic local cheers of ‘‘Chongguoren, jiayou’’ or ‘‘Go, the people of China,’‘.
‘‘I thought if I lose here, the value of winning the world title will be halved,’’ Sugimoto said. ‘’(But) I’m not satisfied with how I fought today at all. I couldn’t produce my style of judo.’‘
It was a shock defeat for world gold medalist Anai, who lost at the hands of Hwang Hee Tae of South Korea who deployed an ippon throw in the final. He had cruised through his first three matches, all with ippon wins.
‘‘I prepared myself mentally (for the Asian Games) since the world championships,’’ Anai said. ‘‘It’s frustrating that I lost but it is a good learning experience for the London Olympics.’‘
World bronze medalist Ogata was thrown over by Jeong Gyeong Mi of South Korea, winner over Beijing gold medalist Yang Ziuli of China, in the final.
‘‘I am really frustrated at myself. If I can’t prevail in Asia, I have no chance at the Olympics, ‘’ Ogata said.
World champion Kamikawa, having lost to Kim Soo Whan of South Korea in the semifinal, pinned Shavkat Igbolov of Tajikistan in the bronze medal match after scoring a ‘‘wazaari.’‘
‘‘I’m humiliated,’’ Kamikawa said. ‘‘Japanese judo had aimed for just gold and I couldn’t live up to the expectations.’’
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