Japan's Kosei Inoue got off to solid start yesterday, dominating the under-100kg class on the opening day of the world judo championships.
Inoue, bidding for his third straight under-100kg title, advanced to the semifinal at Osaka Jo Hall after defeating three judoka, including Georgia's Iveri Jikurauli in the final bout of the qualifying rounds.
Olympic gold medalist Inoue will face Canada's Nicolas Gill in the semis in a rematch of the final at the Sydney Olympics.
Gill, who took home the silver in Sydney, advanced when he defeated Brazilian Mario Sabino, who was penalized for non-combativity late in the bout.
In a major upset, European champion Ariel Zeevi of Israel was eliminated in the qualifying round by Kazakstan's Askhat Zhitkeyev.
Italy's Michele Monti and France's Ghislain Lemaire booked the other semifinal spots.
In the men's over-100kg class, pint-sized Yasuyuki Muneta of Japan defeated European heavyweight champion Tamerlan Tmenov of Russia.
Muneta also defeated Tmenov at the Jigoro Kano Cup in Tokyo in January.
Tmenov, the Sydney bronze medalist, was on the attack for most of the match but was penalized for a defensive posture with 28 seconds left to give Muneta the victory. Russia was expected to dominate the heavyweight divisions at the four-day championships and Tmenov's early exit was a clear setback.
Muneta went on to defeat Iran's Mohmoud Miranfashandi with an inside thigh throw to advance to the semifinals.
Yevgen Sotnikov of Ukraine also advanced to the over-100kg semis along with Brazil's Daniel Hernandes and Dennis Van Der Geest of the Netherlands.
In the women's under-78kg class, Japan's Noriko Anno, who is aiming for her fourth light-heavyweight title in the world championships, advanced along with Spain's Esther San Miguel, Ednanci Silva of Brazil and Cuba'a Yurisel Laborde.
Japan's Maki Tsukada booked a place in the over-78kg semifinals along with Cuba'a Daima Beltran, Germany's Sandra Koeppen and China's Sun Fuming.
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